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k Brief Hiatory of the English Lan-
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ThlsWork shows the Philological E^-la-

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the progress and influence of the causes
' which live brought it to its present con-
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PrinciplM of Pronunciation. By

Professor GtOodkioh and W. A. WHKBii.a,
M.A. Including a Synopsis of Words
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A. Short Treatise on Orthography.

By Aethtjk W. Wright. Including a
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two or more ways.

La Ei^lanatory and Pronouncing;

Vocabulary of the Names of Noted Fic-
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vrhether narrative, poetical, or dramatic,
but Mythological and Mythical names,
names referring to the Angelology and De-
monoiogy of various races, and those
found in the romance writers; Pseu-
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and parties, &c., &c. In fact, it is best
described as explaining every name which
is not strictly historiccd. A reference is
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where the origin is unknown a quotation
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which the word occurs.

Thit valuable Work may also be had
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A Pronouncing Vocabulary of Scrip-
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M.A. Including a List of the Variations
that occur in the Douay version of the
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A Pronouncing Vocabulary of Greek

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An Etymological Vocabulary of Mo-
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C. H. Whiseler. Containing:— I. a List
of Prefixes, Terminations, and Formative
Syllables in various Languages, with their
meaning ansi derivation ; ii. A brief List
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Pronouncing Vocabularies of Modem

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By J. Thomas. MJ).
A Pronouncing Vocabulary of Com-
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A Dictionary of Quotations. Selected
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Containing aU Words, Phrases, Proverbs,
and Colloquial Expressions from the
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A List of Abbreviation^^ Contrac-
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and Printing.

A Classified Selection of Pictorial

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WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY.

From the Quabtbblt Review, Oct 1873.

" Seventy years passed before Johnson waa followed by Webster, an
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fall appreciation of its requirements, leading to better practical resnlts.' '
• • • •<

** His laborious comparison of twenty lan^ages, though never pub-
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" The good average business-like character of Webster's Dictionary,
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Professor Goodrich's edition of 1847 Is not much more than enlarged
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WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY'S
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KINGS OF ENGLAND.

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THK REIGN OF KING STEPHEN,

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EDITOR'S PREFACE.! ?^5

«« William of Malmesbury," according to archbishop Usher,
•* is the chief of our historians ;" Leland records him " as an
elegant, learned, and faithful historian ;" and Sir Henry
Saville is of opinion, that he is the only man of his time who
has discharged his trust as an historian. His History of the
Kings of England was translated into English by the Rev.
John Sharpe, and published in quarto, in 1815.

Though the language of Mr. Sharpens work is by no means
so smooth as the dialect of the present day would require,
yet the care with which he examined MSS., and endeavoured
to give the exact sense of his author, seemed so important a
recommendation, that the editor of the present volume ha«
gladly availed himself of it as a ground-work for his own
labours. The result of this plan is, that the public are en-
abled to purchase without delay and at an insignificant
expense, the valuable contemporary historian, who has
hitherto been like a sealed book to the public, or only acces-
sible through a bulky volume, the scarcity of which served
to exclude it from all bui, public libraries or the studies of
the wealthy.

But the translation of Mr. Sharpe has by no means been re-
printed verbatim. Within the last ten years a valuable
edition of the original text, with copious collations of MSS.,
has been published by the English Historical Society. This
edition has been compared with the translation, and numerous
passages retouched and improved. Some charters, also, have
been added, and a large number of additional notes appended
at the foot of the pages, together with a few other improve-
ments and additions calculated to render this interesting his-
tory more acceptable to the reading public.

J. A. G.

Bampton, June, 1847.

THE

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

The author whose work is here presented to the public in
an English dress, has, unfortunately, left few facts of a per-
sonal nature to be recorded of him ; and even these can only
be casuaUy gleaned from his own writings. It is indeed
much to be regretted that he who wrote so well on such a
variety of topics, should have told so little to gratify the
curiosity of his readers with respect to himself. Every
notice of such an ardent lover of literature as Malmesbury,
must have been interesting to posterity, as a desire to be
acquainted with the history of those who have contributed to
our instruction or amusement seems natural to civilized man.
With the exception indeed of the incidental references made
by successive chroniclers, who borrowed from his history,
there is nothing to be learned of him from extrinsic sources
till the time of Leland, who indignantly observes, that even
at Malmesbury, in his own monastery, they had nearly lost
all remembrance of their brightest ornament.

To himself then we are indebted for the knowledge of his
being descended from both English and Norman parents ; his
father having probably come hither at the conquest. The
exact time of his birth cannot be ascertained ; though per-
haps an approximation to it may be made. In the " Com-
mentary on Jeremiah,"* Malmesbury observes, that he " had
long since, in his youthful days, amused himself with writing
history, that he was now forty years of age ;" and, in another
place, he mentions a circumstance which occurred " in the

* ** Olim enim cum historias lust, viridioribus annis rerumque Isetitiae
congruebat reram jocunditas. Nunc atas progressior, et fortuna deterior,
aliud dicendi genus expostulant. Quadragenarius sum hodie,'* &c. Prol.
m expos. Thren. Hierem. MS. Bodl. 868.

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. VII

time of king Henry ;"* apparently implying that Henry was
then dead. Now, admitting the expression of " long since"
to denote a period often years, this, as his "Histories of the
Kings" and " of the Prelates" were completed in the year
1125, must have been written about 1135, the time of Henry's
death, and would of course place his own birth about 1095
or 1096.t

The next circumstance to be noticed is, that when a boy,
he was placed in the monastery whence he derived his name,
where in due time he became librarian, and, according to
Leland, precentor ; and ultimately refused the dignity of .
abbat. His death is generally supposed to have taken place
about 1143; "though it is probable that he survived this
period some time : for his " Modern History" terminates at
the end of the year 1142 ; and it will appear, from a manu-
script hereafter to be described, that he lived at least long
enough after its publication to make many corrections, altera-
tions, and insertions, in that work as well in the other por-
tions of his History.

With these facts, meagre as they are, the personal account
of him must close. But with regard to his literary bent
and attainments there is ample store of information in his
writings. From his earliest youth he gave his soul to study,
and to the collecting of books ; J and he visited many of the
most celebrated monasteries in the kingdom, apparently in
prosecution of this darling propensity. The ardour of his
curiosity, and the unceasing diligence of his researches, in
this respect, have perhaps been seldom surpassed. He seems
to have procured every volume within his reach ; and to
have carefully examined and digested its contents, whether

* " Ista autem avis (struthio) membrorum grandium, pennas quidem
habens, sed volatu carens. Qualem in Anglia vidimus, tempore regis
Henrici externorum monstrorum appetentissimi." Ch iv. v. 31.

f He has afforded another notice of time, but not equally precise.
Godfrey is said to have been abbat of Malmesbury from the year 1084 till
1105 ; and Malmesbury mentions certain transactions which took place in
Godfrey's time as beyond his memory; and others which happened when
he was a boy. Anglia Sacra, II. 45 — 7. If Malmesbury wrote the mira-
cles of St. Andrew, a work which is attributed to him, he was bom the 30th
of November.

X He says he also collected many books for the monastic library : and
mentions others which he had seen at Canterbury, Bury St. Edmunds, &e.
Gale, tom. iii. pp. 376, 298.

viii translator's preface.

divinity, history, biography, poetry, or classical literature. Of
his acquirements as a scholar it is indeed difficult to speak in
terms of sufficient commendation. That he had accurately
studied nearly all the Roman authors, will be readily
allowed by the classical reader of his works. From these he
either quotes or inserts so appositely, as to show how
thoroughly he had imbibed their sense and spirit. His adapta-
tions are ever ready and appropriate ; they incorporate with
his narrative with such exactness that they appear only to
occupy their legitimate place. His knowledge of Greek is
not equally apparent ; at least his references to the writers
of Greece are not so frequent, and even these might proba-
bly be obtained from translations : from this, however, no
conclusion can be drawn that he did not understand the lan-
guage. With respect to writers subsequent to those deemed
classics, his range was so extensive that it is no easy matter
to point out many books which he had not seen, and cer-
tainly he had perused several which we do not now possess.

Malmesbury's love of learning was constitutional : he de-
clares in one of his prefaces, that had he turned to any other
than literary pursuits, he should have deemed it not only
disgraceful, but even detrimental to his better interest.
Again, his commendations of Bede show how much he vene-
rated a man of congenial inclinations and studies ; and hoM
anxious he was to form himself on the same model of accu-
rate investigation and laborious research, and to snatch every
possible interval from the performance of his monastic duties,
for the purposes of information and improvement.

His industry and application were truly extraordinary.
Even to the moment when we reluctantly lose sight of him,
he is discovered unceasingly occupied in the correction of
his works.* In the MSS. of the " History of the Kings "

* Some notion of his diligence may perhaps be afforded by the following
list of his writings.

1. De Gestis Regum. The History of the Kings of England. The first
three books were probably written soon after the year 1120. Malmesburr
intimates that he then hesitated for a time on the expediency of continmng
his history ; but at length having determined on prosecuting his design, he
dedicated the fourth and fifth books to Robert earl of Gloucester ; at whose
request he afterwards composed

2. Hutoria Novella. The Modem History. This appears to have been
begun after the death of Henry I ; probably not long before 1140.

TRANSLATORS PREFACE. IX

may be found traces of at least four several editions ; and
the "History of the Prelates" supplies nearly as many
varieties. And though it may reasonably be imagined that

3. De Gestis Pontificum. The History of the Prelates of England con-
fining, in four books, an account of the bishops, and of the principal
monasteries, from the conversion of the English, by St. Augustine, to
1123 ; to which he added a fifth

4. De Vita Aldhelmi. The Life of St. Aldhelm : which was completed in
1125. It is very reasonably conjectured that this last was published sepa-
rately and some time after the others ; as, though there are many ancient
MSS. of the first four books, one copy only has yet been discovered with the
fifth. The former were published by Saville, but from very faulty and scanty
MSS. The latter by H. Wharton, and by Gale ; but also very defectively.

5. De Vita S. Dunstani. The Life of S. Dunstan, in two books. MS.
Bodley Rawlinson, 263. This was written at the request of the monks of
Glastonbury, for whom he had previously composed the following three :

6. Vita S. Fatricii. The Life of S. Patrick, in two books. Leland,
Collectanea, 3, 272, has extracts from it, but no MS. has hitherto
occurred.

7. Miracula S. Benigni. The Miracles of S. Benignus. This has not
occurred.

8. Passio S. Indracti. The Martyrdom of S. Indract. MS. Bodley
Digby, 112. This he translated and abridged from the Anglo-Saxon.
Abbreviated in Capgrave's Legenda Nova.

9. De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesice. The History of Glastonbury.
It is addressed to Henry bishop of Winchester, and was of course written
after 1129. Printed in Gale's Collection, t. 3, and by Heame, from an
interpolated MS.

10. Vita S. Wulstani Episcopi Wigorniensis. The Life of S. Wulstan,
Bishop of Worcester. A Translation from the Anglo-Saxon, addressed to
Prior Guarin, between 1124 and 1140. The greater part of it has been
printed. Anglia Sacra, t. 2.

11. Chronica. Chronicles, in three books. See p. 480. This work is
probably lost.

12. Miracula S. Elfgifa. The Miracles of Elfgifa, in metre. A
specimen of these rhymes, there printed as prose, may be seen in the
De Gestis Pontif. f. 143 : they were apparently written while he was very
young ; as, before 1125, he says, ^'quondam cecini."

13. Itinerarium Joannis Abhatis Meldunensis versus Romam. The
Itinerary of John Abbat of Malmesbury to Rome. This was drawn up,
after 1140, from the relation of another monk of that foundation who
accompanied the abbat. Leland, Collect. 3, 272, ed. 1774, mentions it as
being very curious. It does not occur, but it was formerly in the possession
of Bale.

14. Expositio Threnorum Hieremice. A Commentary on the Lamenta-
tions of Jeremiah. MS. Bodley, 868. Abridged from Paschasius
Radbert, probably about 1 1 36.

1 5. De Miraculis Divts Maria libri qnatuor Gul. Cantoris Malmsburie,
The Miracles of the Blessed Virgin, in four books. Leland, Coll. 4. 1 55.

X TRAJISLATORS PREFACE.

a great portion of the alterations are merely verbal, and of
course imperceptible in a translation, yet they contribute in an
extraordinary degree to the polish and elegance of his style.*
Another excellent feature of Malmesbury's literary character
is, his love of truth. He repeatedly declares that, in the
remoter periods of his work, he had observed the most
guarded caution in throwing all responsibility, for the
facts he mentions, on the authors from whom he derived
them ; and in his own times he avers, that he has recorded
nothing that he had not either personally witnessed, or
learned from the most credible authority. Adhering closely
to this principle, he seems to have been fully impressed with
the difficulty of relating the transactions of the princes, his
contemporaries, and on this account he repeatedly apologizes
for his omissions. But here is seen his dexterous management
in maintaining an equipoise between their virtues and vices ;
for he spares neither William the First, nor his sons who
succeeded him : indeed several of his strictures in the earlier
editions of this work, are so severe, that he afterwards found
it necessary to modify and soften them.

His character and attainments had early acquired a high
degree of reputation among his contemporaries. He was
entreated by the monks of various monasteries to write either
the history of their foundations, or the lives of their patron
saints. He associated with persons of the highest consequence

16. De Serie Evangelistarumy Carmine, The Order of the Evangelists,
in verse. Leland, Collect. 4. 157. These two have not occurred.

17. De Miraculis B. Andrece. The Miracles of S. Andrew. MS.
Cotton. Nero, E. 1. Abridged from a very prolix work.

18. Abbreviatio Amalarii de Eeclesiasticis Officiis. Amalarius on
Ecclesiastical Offices, abridged. MS. Lambeth. 380.

19. Epitome Historice Aimonis Floriacensis. The History of Haimo of
Flory, abridged. MS. Bodley, Selden. Arch. B. 32.

Several other works are attributed to him by Tanner, on the authority
of Bale and Pits.

* These remarks on the character and style of our author must be
received, as they say, cum grano salis. They more justly evince the zeal
of Mr. Sharpe than the merits of Malmesbury's composition. The classical
reader will probably lament with me that our early historians should have
used a style so cumbersome and uninviting. To this general censure
Malmesbury is certainly no exception. His Latinity is rude and repulsive,
and the true value of his writings arises from the fidelity with which he has
recorded facts, which he had either himself witnessed or had obtained from
eye-witnesses.

translator's . PREFACE. Xi

and authority ; and in one instance, at least, he took a share
in the important political transactions of his own times.
Robert earl of Gloucester, the natural son of Henry the
First, was the acknowledged friend and patron of Malmes-
bury. This distinguished nobleman, who was himself a
profound scholar, seems to have been the chief promoter
of learning at that period. Several portions of our author's
work are dedicated to him, not merely through motives of
personal regard, but from the conviction that his attainments
as a scholar would lead him to appreciate its value as a com-
position, and the part which he bore in the transactions
of his day, enable him to decide on the veracity of its
relation.

Having thus stated the leading features of Malmesbury's
life, his avocations and attainments, it may not be irrelevant
to consider the form and manner which he has adopted in
the history before us. A desire to be acquainted with the
transactions of their ancestors seems natural to men in every
stage of society, however rude or barbarous. The northern
nations, more especially, had their historical traditions, andj
the songs of their bards, from the remotest times. Influenced'
by this feeling, the Anglo-Saxons turned their attention to
the composition of annals very early after their settlement in
Britain ; and hence originated that invaluable register the
Saxon Chronicle,* in which facts are briefly related as
they arose ; — in chronological order, indeed, but without
comment or observation. After the Norman conquest,
among other objects of studious research in England, history
attracted considerable attention, and the form, as well as the
matter, of the Saxon Chronicle, became the prevailing
standard. It might readily be supposed that Malmesbury's
genius and attainments would with difficulty submit to the
shackles of a mere chronological series, wMch afforded no
field for the exercise of genius or judgment. Accordingly,
following the bent of liis inclination, he struck into a different
and freer path ; and to a judicious selection of facts gave the
added charm of wisdom and experience. It may therefore
be useful to advert to the exemplification of this principle in
the scope and design of the work immediately before us. Hia

* This valuable work has been published, together with Bede's Eccle*
wastical History, in a preceding volume of this series.

XU TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

first book comprises the exploits of the Anglo-Saxons, from
the period of their arrival till the consolidation of the empire
under the monarchy of Egbert. Herein too is separately
given the history of those powerful but rival kingdoms,
which alternately subjugated, or bowed down to the
dominion of, each other, and deluged the country with
blood, as the love of conquest or the lust of ambition
prompted. The second portion of the work continues the
regal series till the mighty revolution of the Norman
conquest. The three remaining books are occupied with
the reigns of William and his sons, including a very
interesting account of the first Crusade. His Modern
History carries the narrative into the turbulent reign
of Stephen.

Such is the period embraced: and to show these times,
" their form and pressure," Malmesbury collected every
thing within his reach. His materials, as l;ie often feelingly
laments, were scanty and confined, more especially in the
earlier annals. The Chronicles of that era afforded him but
'little, yet of that little he has made the most, through the
diligence of his research and the soundness of his judgment.
His discrimination in selecting, and his skill in arranging,
are equally conspicuous. His inexhaustible patience, his
learning, lus desire to perpetuate every thing interesting or
useful, are at all times evident. Sensibly alive to the de-
ficiencies of the historians who preceded him, he constantly
endeavours to give a clear and connected relation of every
event. Indeed, nothing escaped his observation which could
tend to elucidate the manners of the times in which he wrote.
History was the darling pursuit of Malmesbury, and more
especially biographical history, as being, perhaps, the most
pleasing mode of conveying information. He knew the pre-
vailing passion of mankind for anecdote, and was a skilful
master in blending amusement with instruction. Few his-
torians ever possessed such power of keeping alive the
reader's attention; few so ably managed their materials, or
scattered so many flowers by the way. Of his apt delinea-
tion of character, and happy mode of seizing the most promi-
nent features of his personages, it is difficult to speak in
terms of adequate commendation. He does not weary with
a tedious detail, " line upon line," nor does he complete his

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. Xlll

portrait at a. sitting. On the contrary, the traits are scat-
tered, the proportions disunited, the body dismembered, as it
were ; but in a moment some master-stroke is applied, some
vivid flash of Promethean fire animates the canvass, and the
perfect figure darts into life and expression : hence we have
the surly, ferocious snarl of the Conqueror, and the brutal
horse-laugh of Rufus. Malmesbury's history, indeed, may
be called a kind of biographical drama ; where, by a skilful
gradation of character and variety of personage, the story is
presented entire, though the tediousness of continued narra-
tive is avoided. Again, by saying little on uninteresting
topics, and dilating on such as are important, the tale, which
might else disgust from the supineness or degeneracy of some
principal actor, is artfully relieved by the force of coiiliust:
and the mind, which perhaps recoils with indignation from
the stupid indifierence of an Ethelred, hangs, with fond de-
light, on the enterprising spirit and exertion of an Ironside.

It may be superfluous, perhaps, after enumerating qu;ilitic»^
of this varied kind, in an author, who gives a connecteo his
tory of England for several centuries, to observe, that i\>.'». lers
of every description must derive instruction and delight horn
his labours. Historians, antiquaries, or philosophers, may
drink deeply of the stream which pervades his work, ind
find their thirst for information gratified. The diligenl
investigator of the earlier annals of liis own country, finds a
period of seven hundred years submitted to his inspection .
and this not merely in a dry detail of events, but in a series
of authentic historical facts, determined with acuteness, com-
mented on with deliberation, and relieved by pleasing anec-
dote or interesting episode. When the narrative flags at
home, the attention is roused by events transacting abroad,
while foreign is so blended with domestic history, that the
book is never closed in disgust. The antiquary here finds
ample field for amusement and instruction in the various
notices of arts, manners, and customs, which occur. The
philosopher traces the gradual progress of man towards civil-
ization; watches his mental improvement, his advance from
barbarism to comparative refinement ; and not of man alone,
but of government, laws, and arts, as well as of all those
attainments which serve to exalt and embellish human na-
ture. These are topics carefully, though perhaps only inci-

1

JQV TRANSLATORS PREFACE.

dentally, brought forward; but they are points essentially
requisite in every legitimate historian. Here, however, it
must be admitted, that in the volume before us, a consider-
able portion of the marvellous prevails ; and though, perhaps,
by many readers, these wHl be considered as among the most
curious parts of the work, yet it may be objected, that the
numerous miraculous tales detract, in some measure, from
that soundness of judgment which has been ascribed to our
author. But it should be carefully recollected, that it became
necessary to conform, in some degree, to the general taste of
the readers of those days, the bulk of whom derived their
principal amusement from the lives of saints, and from their
miracles, in which they piously believed: besides, no one
ever thought of impeaching the judgment of Livy, or of any
other historian of credit, for insertions of a similar nature.
Even in these relations, however, Malmesbury is careful that
his own veracity shall not be impeached ; constantly observ-
ing, that the truth of the story must rest on the credit of his
authors; and, indeed, they are always so completely sepa-
rable from the main narrative, that there is no danger of
mistaking the legend for history.

Having thus noticed the multifarious topics embraced by
Malmesbury, it may be necessary to advert to his style;
although, after what has been premised, it might seem almost
superfluous to add, that it admits nearly of as much variety
as his facts. This probably arises from that undeviating
principle which he appears to have laid down, that his chief
efforts should be exerted to give pleasure to his readers ; in
imitation of the rhetoricians, whose first object was to make
their audience kindly disposed, next attentive, and finally
anxious to receive instruction.* Of his style, therefore,
generally speaking, it may not be easy to give a perfect
description. To say to which Roman author it bears the
nearest resemblance, when he imitated almost every one of
them, from Sallust to Eutropius, would be rash indeed.
How shall we bind this classical Proteus, who occasionally
assumes the semblance of Persius, Juvenal, Horace, Lucan,
Virgil, Lucretius; and who never appears in his proper
shape so long as he can seize the form of an ancient classic Pf

* See his prologue to the Life of Wulstan, Anglia Sacra, ii. 243.
+ Some of these allusions are occasionally marked in the notes.

translator's preface. XV

Often does he declare that he purposely varies his diction^
lest the reader should be disgusted by its sameness; anx-
iously careful to avoid repetition, even in the structure of his
phrases. It may be said, however, that generally, in his
earlier works, (for he was apparently very young when he
wrote his History of the Kings,) his style is rather laboured ;
though, perhaps, even this may have originated in an anxiety
that his descriptions should be full ; or, to use his own ex-
pression, that posterity should be wholly and perfectly in-
formed. That his diction is highly antithetical, and his
sentences artfully poised, will be readily allowed; and per-
haps the best index to his meaning, where he may be occa-
sionally obscure, is the nicely-adjusted balance of his phrase.
That he gradually improved his style, and in riper years,
where he describes the transactions of his own times, became
terse, elegant, and polished, no one will attempt to dispute ;
and it will be regretted, that this interesting portion of his-
tory should break off abruptly in the midst of the contest
between the empress Maud and Stephen.

In this recapitulation perhaps enough has been said to
make an attempt at translating such an author regarded with
kindness and complacency. To prevent a work of such ac-
knowledged interest and fidelity from remaining longer a
sealed book to the English reader, may well justify an under-
taking of this kind ; and it should be remarked that a trans-
lation of Malmesbury may serve to diffuse a very different
idea of the state of manners and learning in his days from
that which has been too commonly entertained ; and at the
same time to rescue a set of very deserving men from the
unjust obloquy with which they have been pursued for ages.
For without the least design of vindicating the institutions
of monachism or overlooking the abuses incident to it, we
may assert that, in Malmesbury's time, rehgious houses were
the grand depositaries of knowledge, and monks the best
informed men of the age.

It remains briefly to speak of the mode in which the trans-
lation has been conducted. The printed text of Malmesbury *

* A considerable portion of the present work was printed anonymously
as a continuation of Bede, at Heidelberg, in 1587. The whole, together
with the History of the Prelates, was first printed by Sir Henry Saville,
who appears to have consulted several copies in the "Scriptores post

xvi translator's preface.

was found so frequently faulty and corrupted that, on a careful
perusal, it was deemed necessary to seek for authentic manu-
scripts. These were supplied by that noble institution, the
British Museum; but one more especially, which, on an
exact comparison with others, was found to possess indisput-
able proofs of the author's latest corrections. This, Bib.
Reg. 13, D. II, has been collated throughout with the
printed copy ; the result has produced numerous important
corrections, alterations, and insertions, which are constantly
referred to in the notes. In addition to this, various other
MvSS. have been repeatedly consulted ; so that it is presumed
the text, from which the translation has been made, is, by
these means, completely established.

As the plan pursued by Malmesbury did not often require
him to affix dates to the several transactions, it has been
deemed necessary to remedy this omission. The chronology
here supplied has been constructed on a careful examinaticjn
and comparison of the Saxon Chronicle and Florence of
Worcester, which are considered the best authorities;
although even these occasionally leave considerable doubt
as to the precise time of certain events. The remoteness
of the period described by Malmesbury makes notes also in
some measure indispensable. These are derived as frequently
as possible from contemporary authors. Their object is
briefly to amend, to explain, and to illustrate. By some per-
haps they may be thought too limited ; by others they may
occasionally be considered unnecessary ; but they are such as
were deemed likely to be acceptable to readers in general.

With these explanations the translator takes leave of the
reader, and is induced to hope that the present work will
not be deemed an unimportant accession to the stock of
English literature.

Bedam," London, 1596, fol. This was reprinted, but with many additional
errors, at Frankfort, 1601, fol. Saville's division into chapters, in the second
book more especially, has no authority ; but as it appeared sufficiently con-
venient, it has been adopte-i : the division of the sections is nearly the some
throughout all the MSS.

THE AUTHOR'S EPISTLE

TO

EGBERT, EARL OF GLOUCESTER,*

SON OF KING HENRY.

To my respected Lord, the renowned Earl Robert, son of
the King, health, and, as far as he is able, his prayers,
from William, Monk of Malmesbury.

The virtue of celebrated men holds forth as its greatest
excellence, its tendency to excite the love of persons even far
removed from it : hence the lower classes make the virtues of
their superiors their own, by venerating those great actions,
to the practice of which they cannot themselves aspire.
Moreover, it redounds altogether to the glory of exalted
characters, both that they do good, and that they gain the
affection of their inferiors. To you, Princes, therefore, it is
owing, that we act well ; to you, indeed, that we compose
anything worthy of remembrance ; your exertions incite us
to make you live for ever in our writings, in return for the
dangers you undergo to secure our tranquillity. For this
reason, I have deemed it proper to dedicate the History of
the Kings of England, which I have lately published, more
especially to you, my respected and truly amiable Lord.

• Robert, Earl of Gloucester, the Mecsnas of his age, was a natural son
of Henry I., and a man of great talents and of unshaken fidelity. He
married Mabil, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon, by whom he had a numerous
issue. He died October 31, a.i>. 1147.

I

2 THE AUTHOR S EPISTLE.

None, surelj, can be a more suitable patron of the liberal
arts than yourself, in whom are combined the magnanimity
of your grandfather, the munificence of your uncle, the cir-
cumspection of your father ; more especially as you add to
the qualities of these men, whom you alike equal in industry
and resemble in person, this peculiar characteristic, a devo-
tion to learning. Nor is this all : you condescend to honour
with your notice those literary characters who are kept in
obscurity, either by the malevolence of fame, or the slender-
ness of their fortune. And as our nature inclines us, not to
condemn in others what we approve in ourselves, therefore
men of learning find in you manners congenial to their own ;
for, without the slightest indication of moroseness, you re-
gard them with kindness, admit them with complacency, and
dismiss them with regret. Indeed, the greatness of your
fortune has made no difierence in you, except that your
beneficence can now almost keep pace with your inclination.
Accept, then, most illustrious Sir, a work in which you
may contemplate yourself as in a glass, where your High-
ness's sagacity will discover that you have imitated the
actions of the most exalted characters, even before you could
have heard their names. The Preface to the first book de-
clares the contents of this work ; on deigning to peruse
which, you will briefly collect the whole subject-matter.
Thus much I must request from your Excellency, that no
blame may attach to me because my narrative often wanders
wide fropi the limits of our own country, since I design this
as a compendium of many histories, although, with a view tc
the larger portion of it, I have entitled it a History of the
Kings of England.

PREFACE.

The history of the English, from their arrival in Britain ti
his own times, has been written by Bede, a man of singular
learning and modesty, in a clear and captivating style.
After him you will not, in my opinion, easily find any person
who has attempted to compose in Latin the history of this
people. Let others declare whether their researches in this
respect have been, or are likely to be, more fortunate ; my
own labour, though diligent in the extreme, has, down to this
period, been without its reward. There, are, indeed, some
notices of antiquity, written in the vernacular tongue after
the manner of a chronicle,* and arranged according to the
years of our Lord. By means of these alone, the times suc-
ceeding this man have been rescued from oblivion : for of
Elward,f a noble and illustrious man, who attempted to
arrange these chronicles in Latin, and whose intention I
could applaud if his language did not disgust me, it is
better to be silent. Nor has it escaped my knowledge, that
there is also a work of my Lord Eadmer,J written vrith a
chastened elegance of style, in wliich, beginning from King
Edgar, he has but hastily glanced at the times down to
William the First : and thence, taking a freer range, gives a
narrative, copious, and of great utility to the studious, until
the death of Archbishop Ralph. § Thus from the time of
Bede there is a period of two hundred and twenty-three years
left unnoticed in his history ; so that the regular series of
time, unsupported by a connected relation, halts in the middle.
This circumstance has induced me, as well out of love to my

* This alludes to those invaluable records, the Saxon Chronicles. These,
as originally compiled, have been already published in the present Series oif
Monkish Historians.

t Elward, or Ethelwerd, was a noble Saxon, great-great-grandson of
King Ethelred, brother of Alfred. He abridged and translated the Saxon
Chronicle into Latin, published in the present Series. He lived apparently
in the time of Edgar, towards the close of the tenth century.

$ Eadmer, a monk and precentor of Christ-Church, Canterbury, and pupil
of Archbishop Anselm, together with a variety of other works, wrote " His-
toria Novorum," or, a history of modern times, from a.d. 1066 to 1122.

$ MS. Anselmi. Eadmer at first brought down his history to the death
of Archbishop Anselm onlv, a.d. 1109, but afterwards continued it to the
decease of Ralph, a.d. 1 122.

B 2

4 PREFACE.

country, as respect for the authority of those who have en-
joined on me the undertaking, to fill up the chasm, and to
season the crude materials with Roman art. And that the
work may proceed with greater regularity, I shall cull some-
what from Bede, whom I must often quote, glancing at a few
facts, but omitting more.

The First Book, therefore, contains a succinct account of
the English, from the time of their descent on Britain, till
that of King Egbert, who, after the different Princes had fallen
by various ways, gained the monarchy of almost the whole
island.

But as among the English arose four powerful kingdoms,
that is to say, of Kent, of the West Saxons, of the Northum-
brians, and of the Mercians, of which I purpose severally to
treat if I have leisure ; I shall begin with that which attained
the earliest to maturity, and was also the first to decay.
This I shall do more clearly, if I place the kingdoms of the
East Angles, and of the East Saxons, after the others, as
little meriting either my labours, or the regard of posterity.

The Second Book will contain the chronological series of
the Kings to the coming of the Normans.

The three following Books will be employed upon the
history of three successive kings, with the addition of what-
ever, in their times, happened elsewhere, which, from its
celebrity, may demand a more particular notice. This, then,
is what I purpose, if the Divine favour shall smile on my
undertaking, and carry me safely by those rocks of rugged
diction, on which Elward, in his search after sounding and far-
fetched phrases, so unhappily suffered shipwreck. " Should
any one, however," to use the poet's expression,* " peruse this
work with sensible delight," I deem it necessary to acquaint
him, that I vouch nothing for the truth of long past trans-
actions, but the consonance of the time ; the veracity of the
relation must rest with its authors. Whatever I have re-
corded of later times, I have either myself seen, or heard
from credible authority. However, in either part, I pay but
little respect to the judgment of my contemporaries : trust- ■
ing that I shall gain with posterity, when lo^e and hatred
shall be no more, if not a reputation for eloquence, at least
credit for diligence.

• Virgilu hu. V 1. V. 10.

THE HISTORY

OF THE

KINGS OF ENGLAND.

BOOK I.

CHAPTER I.

Of the arrival of the Anglet, and of the Kings of Kent. [a.d. 449.]

In the year of the incarnation of our Lord 449, Angles and
Saxons first came into Britain ; and although the cause oi
their arrival is universally known, it may not be improper
here to subjoin it : and, that the design of my work may be
the more manifest, to begin even from an earlier period.
That Britain, compelled by Julius Caesar to submit to the
Roman power, was held in high estimation by that people,
may be collected from their history, and be seen also in the
ruins of their ancient buildings. Even their emperors,
sovereigns of almost all the world, eagerly embraced oppor*
tunities of sailing hither, and of spending their days here.
Finally, Severus and Constantius, two of their greatest
princes, died upon the island, and were there interred with
the utmost pomp. The former, to defend this province from
the incursions of the barbarians, built his celebrated and
well-known wall from sea to sea. The latter, a man, as they
report, of courteous manners, left Constantine, his son by
Helena, a tender of cattle,* a youth of great promise, his

• Helena's origin has been much contested ; Gibbon decides that she
was daughter of an innkeeper. The word " Stabularia," literally implies
an ostler- wench j and it has been conjectured that it was applied to her, by
the Jews and Gentiles, on account of her building a church on the spot
where stood the stable in which our Lord was born.

6 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [M. C 1.

heir. Constantine, greeted emperor by the army, led away,
in an expedition destined to the continent, a numerous force
of British soldiers j by whose exertions, the war succeeding
to his wishes, he gained in a short time the summit of power.
For these veterans, when their toil was over, he founded a
colony on the western coast of Gaul, where, to this day, their
descendants, somewhat degenerate in language and manners
from our own Britons, remain with woimerful increase.*

In succeeding times, in this island, Maximus, a man weU-
fitted for command, had he not aspired to power in defiance of
his oath, assumed the purple, as though compelled by the
army, and preparing immediately to pass over into Gaul, he
despoiled the province of almost all its military force. Not
long after also, one Constantine, who had been elected em-
peror on account of his name, drained its whole remaining
warlike strength ; but both being slain, the one by Theodo-
sius, the other by Honorius, they became examples of the
instability of human greatness. Of the forces which had
followed them, part shared the fate of their leaders ; the rest,
after their defeat, fled to the continental Britons. Thus
when the tyrants had left none but half-savages in the
country, and, in the towns, those only who were given up to
luxury, Britain, despoiled of the support of its youthfulf
population, and bereft of every useful art, was for a long time
exposed to the ambition of neighbouring nations.

For immediately, by an excursion of the Scots and Picts,
numbers of the people were slain, villages burnt,J towns de-
stroyed, and everything laid waste by fire and sword. Part
of the harassed islanders, who thought anything more ad-
visable than contending in battle, fled for safety to the moun-
tains ; others, burying their treasures in the earth, many of
which are dug up in our own times, proceeded to Rome to ask
assistance. The Romans, touched with pity, and deeming it
above all things important to yield succour to their oppressed
allies, twice lent their aid, and defeated the enemy. But at
length, wearied with the distant voyage, they declined re-
turning in future ; bidding them rather themselves not

* Various periods have been assigned for the British settlement in
Annorica, or Bretagne ; but the subject is still involved in great obscurity,
t Some MSS. read juvenilis, others militaris.
t Some MSS. read mccenstt.

4*447.1 ItEIGN OF VORTIGERN. 7

degenerate from the martial energy of their ancestors, but
learn to defend their country with spirit, and with arms.
They accompanied their advice with the plan of a wall, to be
built for their defence ; the mode of keeping watch on the
ramparts ; of sallying out against the enemy, should it be
necessary, together with other duties of military discipline.
After giving these admonitions, they departed, accompanied
by the tears of the miserable inhabitants ; and Fortune,
smiling on their departure, restored them to their friends and
country. The Scots, learning the improbability of their re-
turn, immediately began to make fresh and more frequent
irruptions against the Britons ; to level their wall, to kill the
few opponents they met with, and to carry off considerable
booty ; while such as escaped fled to the royal residence,
imploring the protection of their sovereign.

At this time Vortigern was King of Britain ; a man calcu-
lated neither for the field nor the council, but wholly given
up to the lusts of the flesh, the slave of every vice : a cha-
racter of insatiable avarice, ungovernable pride, and polluted
by his lusts. To complete the picture, as we read in the
History of the Britons, he had defiled his own daughter, who
was lured to the participation of such a crime by the hope of
sharing his kingdom, and she had borne him a son. Regard-
less of his treasures at this dreadful juncture, and wasting
the resources of the kingdom in riotous living, he was awake
only to the blandishments of abandoned women. Roused at
length, however, by the clamours of the people, he summoned
a council, to take the sense of his nobility on the state of
public affairs. To be brief, it was unanimously resolved to
invite over from Germany the Angles and Saxons, nations
powerful in arms, but of a roving life. It was conceived
that this would be a double advantage : for it was thought
that, by their skill in war, these people would easily subdue
their enemies ; and, as they hitherto had no certain habita-
tion, would gladly accept even an unproductive soil, provided
it afforded them a stationary residence. Moreover, that thev
could not be suspected of ever entertaining a design against
the country, since the remembrance of this kindness would
soften their native ferocity. This counsel was adopted, and
ambassadors, men of rank, and worthy to represent the
country, were sent into Germany.

8 WILLIAAI OF MALMESBUKY. [b.i.c1.

The Germans, hearing that voluntarily ofFei*3d, which
they had long anxiously desired, readily obeyed tie invita-
tion ; their joy quickening their haste. Bidding adieu,
therefore, to their native fields and the ties of kindred, they
spread their sails to Fortune, and, with a favouring breeze,
arrived in Britain in three of those long vessels which they
call " ceols."* At this and other times came over a mixed
multitude from three of the German nations ; that is to say,
the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. For almost all the country
lying to the north of the British ocean, though divided into
many provinces, is justly denominated Germany, from its
germinating so many men. And as the pruner cuts off the
more luxuriant branches of the tree to impart a livelier
vigour to the remainder, so the inhabitants of this country
assist their common parent by the expulsion of a part of
their members, lest she should perish by giving sustenance
to too numerous an offspring ; but in order to obviate dis-
content, they cast lots who shall be compelled to migrate.
Hence the men of this country have made a virtue of
necessity, and, when driven from their native soil, they have
gained foreign settlements by force of arms. The Vandals,
for instance, who formerly over-ran Africa ; the Goths, who
made themselves masters of Spain ; the Lombards, who, even
at the present time, are settled in Italy ; and the Normans,
who have given their own name to that part of Gaul which
they subdued. From Germany, then, there first came into
Britain, an inconsiderable number indeed, but well able to
make up for their paucity by their courage. These were
under the conduct of Hengist and Horsa, two brothers of
suitable disposition, and of noble race in their own country-.
They were great-grandsons of the celebrated Woden, from
whom almost all the royal families of these barbarous nations
deduce their origin ; and to whom the nations of the Angles,
fondly deifying him, have consecrated by immemorial super-
stition the fourth day of the week, as they have the sixth to
his wife Frea. Bede has related in what particular parts of

• These are supposed to be long vessels, somewhat like galleys, and it
would appear, as well from Brompton, col. 897, as from so small a number
containing a body equal to a military enterprise like that described here and
in other places, that they vere of considerable burden.

A 0.449.] ARRIVAL OF HENGIST. 9

Britain, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes,* fixed their habita-
tions : my design, however, is not to dilate, though there
may be abundance of materials for the purpose, but to touch
only on what is necessary.

The Angles were eagerly met on all sides upon their
arrival : from the king they received thanks, from the people
expressions of good- will. Faith was plighted on either side,
and the Isle of Thanet appropriated for their residence. It
was agreed, moreover, that they should exert their prowess
in arms for the service of the country ; and, in return,
receive a suitable reward from the people for whose safety
they underwent such painful labours. Ere long, the Scots
advanced, as usual, secure, as they supposed, of a great booty
with very little difficulty. However, the Angles assailed
them, and scarcely had they engaged, before they were put to
flight, whilst the cavalry pursued and destroyed the fugitives.
Contests of this kind were frequent, and victory constantly
siding with the Angles, as is customary in human affairs,
while success inflamed the courage of one party, and dread
increased the cowardice of the other, the Scots in the end
avoided nothing so cautiously as an engagement with them.

In the meantime, Hengist, not less keen in perception
than ardent in the field, with consent of Vortigern, sends
back some of his followers to his own country, with the
secret purpose, however, of representing the indolence of the
king and people, the opulence of the island, and the prospect
of advantage to new adventurers. Having executed their
commission adroitly, in a short time they return with sixteen
ships, bringing with them the daughter of Hengist ; a
maiden, as we have heard, who might justly be called the
master-piece of nature and the admiration of mankind. At
an entertainment, provided for them on their return, Hen-
gist commanded his daughter to assume the office of cup-
bearer, that she might gratify the eyes of the king as he sat
at table. Nor was the design unsuccessful : for he, ever
eager after female beauty, deeply smitten with the graceful-

* Bede i. 15. The people of Kent and of the Isle of Wight were Jutes ;
the East, South, and West Saxons, were Saxons ; and of the Angles came
the East-Angles, Mid- Angles, Mercians, and Northumbrians. For the
limits of the several kingdoms of the Heptarchy, see Chap. VI. The
Cottonian MS. CClaud. ix.) reads, Wichtis,

6

WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b.!. cl,

ness of her form and the elegance of her motion, instantly
conceived a vehement desire for the possession of her person,
and immediately proposed marriage to her father ; urging
him to a measure to which he was already well inclined.
Hengist, at first, kept up the artifice by a refusal ; stating,
that so humble a connection was unworthy of a king : but,
at last, appearing to consent with reluctance, he gave way to
his importunities, and accepted, as a reward, the whole of
Kent, where all justice had long since declined under the
administration of its Gourong (or Viceroy V^ho, like the
other primjes of the island, was subject to tKfe monarchy of
VortigernN>Not satisfied with this liberality, but abusing
the imprudence of the king, the barbarian persuaded him to
send for his son and brother, men of warlike talents, from
Germany, pretending, that he would defend the province or
the east, while they might curb the Scots on the northern
frontier. The king assenting, they sailed round Britain, and
arriving at the Orkney Isles, the inhabitants of which they
involved in the same calamity with the Picts and Scots, at
this and after times, they finally settled in the northern part
of the island, now called Northumbria. Still no one there
assumed the royal title or insignia till the time of Ida, from
whom sprang the regal line of the Northumbrians ; but of '
this hereafter. We will now return to the present subject.

Vortimer, the son of Vortigern, thinking it unnecessary
longer to dissemble that he saw himself and his Britons cir-
^ cum vented by the craft of the Angles, turned his thoughts
to their expulsion, and stimulated his father to the same
attempt. At his suggestion, the truce was broken seven
years after their arrival ; and during the ensuing twenty,
they frequently fought partial battles,* and, as the chronicle
relates, four general actions. From the first conflict they
parted on equal terms : one party lamenting the loss of
Horsa, the brother of Hengist ; the other, that of Katigis,
another of Vortigern's sons. The Angles, having the ad-
vantage in all the succeeding encounters, peace was con-
cluded ; Vortimer, who had been the instigator of the war,

* At Aylesford, a.d. 455 ; at Crayford, 457 ; at Wippedsfleet (supposed,
but very doubtful, Ebbsfleet, in Thanet), 465 ; and the fourth, a.d. 473,
the place not mentioned. See Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 465.

.t.D.520.j MASSACBE OF THE BRITISH NOBLES. 11

and differed far from tlnj indolence of his father, perished
prematurely, or he would have governed the kingdom in a
noble manner, had God permitted. When he died, the
British strength decayed, and all hope fled from them ; and
they would soon have perished altogether, had not Ambro-
sius, the sole survivor of the Romans, who became monarch
after Vortigern, quelled the presumptuous barbarians by the
powerful aid of warlike Arthur. It is of this Arthur that
the Britons fondly tell so many fables, even to the present
day ; a man worthy to be celebrated, not by idle fictions, but
by authentic history. He long upheld the sinking state, and
roused the broken spirit of his countrymen to war. Finally,
at the siege of Mount Badon,* relying on an image of the
Virgin, which he had affixed to his armour, he engaged nine
hundred of the enemy, single-handed, and dispersed them
with incredible slaughter. On the other side, the Angles,
after various revolutions of fortune, filled up their thinned
battalions with fresh supplies of their countrymen ; rushed
with greater courage to the conflict, and extended themselves
hy degrees, as the natives retreated, over the whole island :
^or the counsels of God, in whose ^and is every change of
e!hpire, did not oppose their career/VBut this was effected
in process of time ; for while Yqp^eTn lived, no new at-
tempt was made against them. ^5bout this time, Hengist,
from that bad quahty of the humam heart, which grasps after
more in proportion to what it already possesses^ by a pre-
concerted piece of deception, invited his son^n-law, with
three hundred of his followers, to an entertainment ; and
when, by more than usual compotations, he had excited them
to clamour, he began, purposely, to taunt them severally, with
sarcastic raiUery : this had the desired effect, of making them
first quarrel, and then come to blows. Thus the Britons
were basely murdered to a man, and breathed their last amid
their cups. The king himself, made captive, purchased
his liberty at the price of three provinces. After this,
Hengist died, in the thirty-ninth year after his arrival ; he

• Said to be Bannesdown, near Bath. Giraldus Cambrensis says, the
image of the Virgin was lixed on the inside of Arthur's shield, that he might
kiss it in battle. Bede erroneously ascribes this event to a.d. 493. (Bede's
Ecclesiastical History, b. i. c. 6.)

12 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. Tb. i. c L

Was a man, who urging his success not less by artifice than
courage, and giving free scope to his natural ferocity, pre-
ferred effecting his purpose rather by cruelty than by
kindness. He left a son named Eisc;* who, more intent
on defending, than enlarging, his dominions, never exceeded
the paternal bounds. At the expiration of twenty -four years,
he had for his successors, his son Otha, and Otha's son, Er-
menric, who, in their manners, resembled him, rather than
their grandfather and great grandfather. To the times of
both, the Chronicles assign fifty-three years; but whether
they reigned singly, or together, does not appear.

After them Ethelbert, the son of Ermenic, reigned fifty-
three years according to the Chronicle ; but fifty-six accord-
ing to Bede. The reader must determine how this difference
is to be accounted for; as I think it sufficient to have apprized
him of it, I shall let the matter rest.f In the infancy of his
reign, he was such an object of contempt to the neighbouring
kings, that, defeated in two battles, he could scarcely defend
his frontier ; afterwards, however, when to his riper years he
had added a more perfect knowledge of war, he quickly, by
successive victories, subjugated every kingdom of the Angles,
with the exception of the Northumbrians. And, in order to
obtain foreign connections, he entered into affinity with the
king of France, by marrying his daughter Bertha. And
now by this connection with the Franks, the nation, hitherto
savage and wedded to its own customs, began daily to divest
itself of its rustic propensities and incline to gentler manners.
[To this was added the very exemplary life of bishop Luid-
uiard, who had come over with the queen, by which, though
Silently, he allured the king to the knowledge of Christ our
Lord. Hence it arose, that his mind, already softened, easily
yielded to the preaching of the blessed Augustine ; and he
was the first of all his race who renounced the errors 4^
paganism, that he might obscure, by the glory of his faith^

• According to Sprott, Hengist died in 488, and was succeeded by his
son Octa, vel Osca. Osca died a.d. 408, and Esc, his son, ascended the
throne. In the year 522 Ermenric, the father of king Ethelbert, reigned.
Ethelbert became king of Kent in 558.

•f* The difference seems to have arisen from carelessness in the scribe; as
the Saxon Chronicle states him to have ascended the throne a.d. 560, and
to have died 616: which is exactly fifty-six years, although it asserts him to
have reigned only 5S.

A.D.W8.] EDBALD. 13

those whom he surpassed in power. This, indeed, is spotless
nobility ; this, exalted virtu6 ; to excel in worth those whom
you exceed in rank. Besides, extending his care to pos-
terity, he enacted laws, in his native tongue, in which he
appointed rewards for the meritorious, and opposed severer
restraints to the abandoned, leaving nothing doubtful for the
future.*

Ethelbert died in the twenty-first year after he had em-
braced the Christian faith, leaving the diadem to his son
Edbald. As soon as he was freed from the restraints of
paternal awe, he rejected Christianity, and overcame the
virtue of his stepmother. f But the severity of the divine
mercy opposed a barrier to his utter destruction: for the
princes, whom his father had subjugated, immediately re-
belled, he lost a part of his dominions, and was perpetually
haunted by an evil spirit, whereby he paid the penalty of
his unbelief. Laurentius, the successor of Augustine, was
offended at these transactions, and after having sent away
his companions, was meditating his own departure from the
country, but having received chastisement from God, he was
induced to change his resolution. J The king conversing with
him on the subject, and finding his assertions confirmed by
his stripes, became easily converted, accepted the grace of
Christianity, and broke off his incestuous intercourse. But,
that posterity might be impressed with the singular punish-
ment due to apostacy, it was with difficulty he could main-
tain his hereditary dominions, much less rival the eminence
of his father. For the remainder of his life, his faith was
sound, and he did nothing to sully his reputation. The
monastery also, which his father had founded without the
walls of Canterbury, § he ennobled with large estates, and
sumptuous presents. The praises and merits of both these
men ought ever to be proclaimed, and had in honour by the
English ; because they allowed the Christian faith to acquire

* See Wilkins's " Leges Anglo-Saxonicse," and the Textus RofFensis.

+ The name of the second queen of Ethelbert is not mentioned, pro-
bably on account of this incest.

J St. Peter, it is said, appeared to Laurentius at night, and reproaching
him for his cowardice, severely chastised him with a scourge; the marks of
which had the eifect here mentioned the next day. Bede ii. 6. According
to Sprott, St. Laurentius became archbishop of Canterbury, a.d. 610.

$ St. Augustine's, Canterbury, completed, according to Sprott, a.d. 663^

14 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [». t c 1

Strength, in England, by patient listening and willingness to
believe. Who can contemplate, without satisfaction, the just
and amiable answer which Bede makes king Ethelbert to
have given to the first preaching of Augustine ? " That he
could not, thus early, embrace a new doctrine and leave the
accustomed worship of his country ; but that, nevertheless,
persons who had undertaken so long a journey for the pur-
pose of kindly communicating to the Angles what they
deemed an inestimable benefit, far from meeting with ill-
treatment, ought rather to be allowed full liberty to preach,
and also to receive the amplest maintenance." He fully kept
his promise ; and at length the truth of Christianity becom-
ing apparent by degrees, himself and all his subjects were
admitted into the number of the faithful. And what did the
other ? Though led away at first, more by the lusts of the
flesh than perverseness of heart, yet he paid respect to the
virtuous conduct of the prelates, although he neglected their
faith; and lastly, as I have related, was easily converted
through the sufferings of Laurentius, and became of infinite
service to the propagation of Christianity. Both, then, were
laudable : both deserved high encomiums ; for the good work,
so nobly begun by the one, was as kindly fostered by the
other.

To him, after a reign of twenty-four years, succeeded
Erconbert, his son, by Emma, daughter of the king of
France. He reigned an equal number of years with his
father, but under happier auspices; alike remarkable for
piety towards God, and love to his country. For his grand-
father, and father, indeed, adopted our faith, but neglected to
destroy their idols ; whilst he, thinking it derogatory to his
royal zeal not to take the readiest mode of annihilating openly
what they only secretly condemned, levelled every temple of
their gods to the ground, that not a trace of their paganism
might be handed down to posterity. This was nobly done :
for the mass of the people would be reminded of their super-
stition, so long as they could see the altars of their deities.
In order, also, that he might teach his subjects, who were
too much given to sensual indulgence, to accustom them-
selves to temperance, he enjoined the solemn fast of Lent
to be observed throughout his dominions. This was an
extraordinary act for the king to attempt in those times:

A.D. 664—686.1 EGBERT ^LOTHEBE. l5

but he was a man whom no blandishments of luxury could
enervate ; no anxiety for power seduce from the worship of
God. Wherefore he was protected by the favour of the
Almighty; every thing, at home and abroad, succeeded to
his wishes, and he grew old in uninterrupted tranquillity.
His daughter Ercongotha, a child worthy of such a parent,
and emulating her father in virtuous qualities, became a
shining light in the monastery of Kalas in Gaul.*

His son Egbert, retaining his father's throne for nine
years, did notliing memorable in so short a reign; unless
indeed it be ascribed to the glory of this period, that Theo-
doref the archbishop, and Ad^-ian the abbat, two consummate
scholai'S, came into England in his reign. Were not the sub-
ject already trite, I should willingly record what light they
shed upon the Britons ; how on one side the Greeks, and en
the other the Latins, emulously contributed their knowledge
to the public stock, and made this island, once the nurse of
tyrants, the constant residence of philosophy : but this and
every other merit of the times of Egbert is clouded by his
horrid crime, of either destroying, or permitting to be de-
stroyed, Elbert and Egelbriglit, his nephews.J

To Egbert succeeded his brother Lothere, who began his
reign with unpropitious omens. For he was harassed during
eleven years by Edi-ic, the son of Egbert, and engaged in
many civil conflicts which terminated with various success,
until he was ultimately pierced through the body with a dart,
and died while they were applying remedies to the wound.
Some say, that both the brothers perished by a premature
death as a just return for their cruelty ; because Egbert, as
I have related, murdered the innocent children of his uncle ;
and Lothere ridiculed the notion of holding them up as
martyrs : although the former had lamented the action, and
had granted a part of the Isle of Thanet to the mother of
his nephews, for the purpose of building a monastery.

* Chelles, near Paris.

t Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia,
and a prelate of great learning; but it being apprehended by Pope Vitalian
that he might rather incline to the doctrines of the Greek Church, Adrian
was sent with him, as a kind of superintendent, and was appointed abbat
of St. Augustine's.

J See book ii. chap. 1 3, " but 'his and every other, ' &c Some editions
omit this passage altogether.

16 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUllY. Lb. r. c 1.

Nor did Edric long boast the prosperous state of his
government ; for within two years he was despoiled both of
kingdom and of life, and left his country to be torn in pieces
by its enemies. Immediately Casdwalla, with his brother
Mull, in other respects a good and able man, but breathing
an inextinguishable hatred against the people of Kent, made
vigorous attempts upon the province ; supposing it must
easily surrender to Hs views, as it had lately been in the
enjoyment of long continued peace, but at that time was torn
with intestine war. He found, however, the inhabitants by
no means unprepared or void of courage, as he had expected.
For, after many losses sustained in the towns and villages, at
length they rushed with spirit to the conflict. They gained
the victory in the contest, and having put Casdwalla to flight,
drove his brother Mull into a little cottage, which they set
on fire. Thus, wanting courage to sally out against the
enemy, the fire gained uncontrolled power, and he perished
in the flames. Nevertheless Caedwalla ceased not his efforts,
nor retired from the province ; but consoled himself for his
losses by repeatedly ravaging the district ; however, he left
the avenging of this injury to Ina, his successor, as will be
related in its place.

In this desperate state of the affairs of Kent, there was a
void of about six years in the royal succession. In the
seventh, Withred, the son of Egbert, having repressed the
malevolencci of his countrymen by his activity, and purchased
peace from his enemies by money, was chosen king by the
inhabitants, who entertained great and well-founded hopes of
him. He was an admirable ruler at home, invincible in
war, and a truly pious follower of the Christian faith, for he
extended its power to the utmost. And, to complete his felicity,
after a reign of thirty-three years, he died in extreme old age,
which men generally reckon to be their greatest happiness,
leaving his three children his heirs. These were Egbert,
Ethelbert, and Alric, and they reigned twenty-three, eleven,
and thirty-four years successively, without deviation from
the excellent example and institutions of their father, except
that Ethelbert, by the casual burning of Canterbury, and
Alric, by an unsuccessful battle with the Mercians, consider-
ably obscured the glory of their reigns. So it is that, if any
tiling disgraceful occurs, it is not concealed ; if any thing

A.D. 774.-823.] DOWNFALL OF KENT. 17

fortunate, it is not sufficiently noticed in the Chronicles ;
whether it be done designedly, or whether it arise from that
bad quality of the human mind, which makes gratitude for
good transient ; whereas the recollection of evil remains foi
ever. After these men the noble stock of kings began to
wither, the royal blood to flow cold. Then every daring
adventurer, who had acquired riches by his eloquence, or
whom faction had made formidable, aspired to the kingdom,
and disgraced the ensigns of royalty. Of these, Edbert
otherwise called Pren, after having governed Kent two years,
over-rating his power, was taken prisoner in a war with the
Mercians, and loaded with chains. But being set at liberty
by his enemies, though not received by his own subjects, it
is uncertain by what end he perished. Cuthred, heir to the
same faction and calamity, reigned, in name only, eight years.
Next Baldred, a mere abortion of a king, after having for
eighte^ years more properly possessed, than governed the
kingdom, went into exile, on his defeat by Egbert, king of
the West Saxons. Thus the kingdom of Kent, which, from
the year of our Lord 449, had continued 375 years, became
annexed to another. And since by following the royal line
of the first kingdom which arose among the Angles, I have
elicited a spark, as it were, from the embers of antiquity, I
shall now endeavour to throw light on the kingdom of the
West Saxons, which, though after a considerable lapse of
time, was the next that sprang up. While others were
neglected and wasted away, this flourished with uncon-
querable vigour, even to the coming of the Normans ; and, if
I may be permitted the expression, with greedy jaws
swallowed up the rest. Wherefore, after tracing this
kingdom in detail down to Egbert, I shall briefly, for fear of
disgusting my readers, subjoin some notices of the two
remaining ; this will be a suitable termination to the first
book, and the second will continue the history of the West
Saxons alone.

CHAP. IT.

Of the kings of the West Saxons, [a.d. 495.]

The kingdom of the West Saxons, — and one more magnificent
or lasting Britain never beheld, — sprang from Cerdic, and soon

18 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Lb.i, c, S.

increased to great importance. He was a German by nation,
of tlie noblest race, being the tenth from Woden, and, having
nurtured his ambition in domestic broils, determined to leave
his native land and extend his fame by the sword. Having
formed this daring resolution he communicated his design to
Cenric his son, who closely followed his father's track to
glory, and with his concurrence transported his forces into
Britain in five ceols. This took place in the year of our
Saviour's incarnation 495, and the eighth after the death of
Hengist. Coming into action with the Britons the very day
of his arrival, this experienced soldier soon defeated an
undisciplined multitude, and compelled them to fly. By this
success he obtained perfect security in future for himself, as
well as peace for the inhabitants of those parts. For they
never dared after that day to attack him, but voluntarily
submitted to his dominion. Nevertheless he did not waste
his time in indolence ; but, on the contrary, extending his
conquests on all sides, by the time he had been twenty-four
years in the island, he had obtained the supremacy of the
western part of it, called West- Saxony. He died after enjoy-
ing it sixteen years, and his whole kingdom, with the exception
of the isle of Wight, descended to his son. This, by the
royal munificence, became subject to his nephew, Withgar ;
who was as dear to his uncle by the ties of kindred, for he
was his sister's son, as by his skill in war, and formed a
noble principality in the island, where he was afterwards
splendidly interred. Cenric moreover, who was as illustrious
as his father, after twenty-six years, bequeathed the kingdom,
somewhat enlarged, to his son Ceawlin.

The Chronicles extol the singular valour of this man in
battle, so as to excite a degree of envious admiration ; for he
was the astonishment of the Angles, the detestation of the
Britons, and was eventually the destruction of both. I shall
briefly subjoin some extracts from them. Attacking Ethel-
bert king of Kent, who was a man in other respects laudable,
but at that time was endeavouring from the consciousness of
his family's dignity to gain the ascendency, and, on this
account, making too ^eager incursions on the territories of his
neighbour, he routed his troops and forced him to retreat.
The Britons, who, in the times of his father and grandfather,
had escaped destruction either by a show of submission, or

^.D. 577.— 626.] CYNEGILS AND CUTCBELM. 19

by the strength of their fortifications at Gloucester, Ciren-
cester, and Bath, he now pursued with ceaseless rancour ;
ejected them from their cities, and chased them into
mountainous and woody districts, as at the present day.
^ut about this time, as some unluckly throw of the d^e in
tfte table of human life perpetually disappoints mankind^is
military successes were clouded by domestic calami*/: his
brother Cutha met an untimely death, and he had a son
of the same name taken off in battle ; both young men of
great expectation, whose loss he frequently lamented as a
severe blow to his happiness. Finally, in his latter days,
himself, banished from his kingdom, presented a spectacle,
pitiable even to his enemies. For he had sounded, as it
were, the trumpet of his own detestation on all sides, and
the Angles as well as the Britons conspiring against him, his
forces were destroyed at Wodensdike ; * he lost his kingdom
thirty-one years after he had gained it ; went into exile,
and shortly after died. The floating reins of government
werfe then directed by his nephews, the sons of Cutha, that
is to say, Celric during six, Ceolwulf during fourteen years :
of these the inferior with respect to age, but the more
excellent in spirit, passed all his days in war, nor ever
neglected, for a moment, the protection and extension of his
empire.

After him, the sons of Celric, Cynegils and Cuichelm,
jointly put on the ensigns of royalty ; both active, both
contending with each other only in mutual ofiices of kind-
ness ; insomuch, that to their contemporaries they were a
miracle of concord very unusual amongst princes, and to
posterity a proper example. It is difficult to say whether
their courage or their moderation exceeded in the numberless
contests in which they engaged either against the Britons, or
against Penda, king of the Mercians : ai, man, as will be
related in its place, wonderfully expert in the subtleties of
war ; and who, overpassing the limits of his own territory,
in ati attempt to add Cirencester to his possessions, being
unable to withstand the power of these united kings, escaped
with only a few followers. A considerable degree of guilt
indeed attaches to Cuichelm, for attempting to take off, by the
hands of an assassin, Edwin king of the Northumbrians, a
* Wansdike, in Wiltshire.

c 2

20 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [■. i. c. 2.

man of acknowledged prudence. Yet, if the heathen maxim,

Who asks if fraud or force availed the foe ? *

be considered, he will be readily excused, as having done
nothing uncommon, in wishing to get rid, by whatever means,
of a rival encroaching on his power. For he had formerly
lopped off much from the West Saxon empire, and now
receiving fresh ground of offence, and his ancient enmity
reviving, he inflicted heavy calamities on that people. The
kings, however, escaped, and were, not long after, enlightened
with the heavenly doctrine, by the means of St. Birinus the
bishop, in the twenty-fifth year of their reign, and the
fortieth after the coming of the blessed Augustine, the
apostle of the Angles. Cynegils, veiling his princely pride,
condescended to receive immediately the holy rite of baptism :
Cuichelm resisted for a time, but warned, by the sickness of
his body, not to endanger the salvation of his soul, he became
a sharer in his brother's piety, and died the same year.
Cynegils departed six years afterwards, in the thirty-first
year of his reign, enjoying the happiness of a long-extended
peace.

Kenwalk his son succeeded : in the beginning of his reign,
to be compared only to the worst of princes ; but, in the
succeeding and latter periods, a rival of the best. The
moment the young man became possessed of power, wantoning
in regal luxury and disregarding the acts of his father, he
abjured Christianity and legitimate marriage ; but being
attacked and defeated by Penda, king of Mercia, whose
sister he had repudiated, he fled to the king of the East
Angles. Here, by a sense of his own calamities and by the
perseverance of his host, he was once more brought back to
the Christian faith ; and after three years, recovering liis
strength and resuming his kingdom, he exhibited to his
subjects the joyful miracle of his reformation. So valiant
was he, that, he who formerly was unable to defend his own
territories, now extended his dominion on every side ;
totally defeating in two actions the Britons, furious
with the recollection of their ancient liberty, and in conse-
quence perpetually meditating resistance ; first, at a place
called Witgeornesburg,f and then at a mountain named

* Virgil, iEn. ii. S90. f Bradford on Avon, See Sa > Chron. a.d, 652,

A.D.65B.1 ACCOUNT OF GLASTONBURY. 21

Pene ; * and again, avenging the injury of his father on
Wulf here, the son of Penda, he deprived him of the greatest
part of his kingdom : moreover he was so religious, that,
first of all his race, he built, for those times, a most beautiful
church at Winchester, on which site afterwards was founded
the episcopal see with still more skilful magnificence.

But since we have arrived at the times of Kenwalk, and
the proper place occurs for mentioning the monastery of
Glastonbury, f I shall trace from its very origin the rise and
progress of that church as far as I am able to discover it
from the mass of evidences. It is related in annals of good
credit that Lucius, king of the Britons, sent to Pope Eleu-
therius, thirteenth in succession from. St. Peter, to entreat,
that he would dispel the darkness of Britain by the splendour
of Christian iiistruction. This surely was the commendable
deed of a magnanimous prince, eagerly to seek that faith, the
mention of which had barely reached him, at a time when it
was an object of persecution to almost every king and people
to whom it was offered. In consequence, preachers, sent by
Eleutherius, came into Britain, the effects of whose labours
will remain for ever, although the rust of antiquity may have
obliterated their names. By these was built the ancient
church of St. Mary of Glastonbury, as faithful tradition has
handed down through decaying time. Moreover there are
documents of no small credit, which have been discovered in
certain places to the following effect : " No other hands than
those of the disciples of Christ erected the church of
Glastonbury." Nor is it dissonant from probability : for if
Philip, the Apostle, preached to the Gauls, as Freculphus
relates in the fourth chapter of his second book, it may be
believed that he also planted the word on this side of the
channel also. But that I may not seem to balk the
expectation of my readers by vain imaginations, leaving all
doubtful matter, I shall proceed to the relation of substantial
truths.

* Pen, in Somersetshire.

+ Malmesbury wrote a History of Glastonbury, which is printed in
Gale's Collection, vol. iii. and by Heame, in the History of Glastonbury,
nd from this work he extracts this account. Sharpe gives it [from " But
since," &c. to " character so munificent" in page 28, line 2], in a note as a
various reading of one of the MSS. The note occupies the greater part
of seven pages from 25 to 31 in Sharpe's original volume.

22 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUEY. [b. ^ c S

'Hie church of which we are speaking, from its antiquity
called by the Angles, by way of distinction, " Ealde Chirche,**
that is, the " Old Church," of wattle-work, at first, savoured
somewhat of heavenly sanctity even from its very foundation,
and exhaled it over the whole country ; claiming superior
reverence, though the structure was mean. Hence, here
arrived whole tribes of the lower orders, thronging every
path ; here assembled the opulent divested of their pomp ;
and it became the crowded residence of the religious and
the literary. For, as we have heard from men of old time,
here Gildas, an historian neither unlearned nor inelegant, to
whom the Britons are indebted for whatever notice they
obtain among other nations, captivated by the sanctity of the
place, took up his abode for a series of years.* This church,
then, is certainly the oldest I am acquainted with in
England, and from this circumstance derives its name. In
it are preserved the mortal remains of many saints, some of
whom we shall notice in our progress, nor is any corner of
the church destitute of the ashes of the holy. The very
floor, inlaid with polished stone, and the sides of the altar,
and even the altar itself above and beneath are laden with
the multitude of relics. Moreover in the pavement may be
remarked on every side stones designedly interlaid in
triangles and squares, and figured with lead, under which if
I believe some sacred enigma to be contained, I do no
injustice to religion. The antiquity, and multitude of its
saints, have endued the place with so much sanctity, that, at
night, scarcely any one presumes to keep vigil there, or,
during the day, to spit upon its floor : he who is conscious of
pollution shudders throughout his whole frame : no one ever
brought hawk or horses within the confines of the neigh-
bouring cemetery, who did not depart injured either in them
or in himself. Within the memory of man, all persons who,
before undergoing the ordeal "f of fire or water, there put up

* There is a Life of Gildas, written not long after this history, by Caradoc
of Lancarvon, in which we are told, that, while he was residing at Glaston-
bury, a prince of that country carried off Arthur's queen and lodged her
there ; that Arthur immediately besieged it, but, through the mediation of
the abbat, and of Gildas, consented, at length, to receive his wife again and
to depart peaceably.

+ The ordeal was an appeal to heaven to decide immediately on the
jurtice of the cause. There were many modes of this whimsicul trial : as

: At. 676.] PRYA311DS NEAR GLASTONBURY. 23

their petitions, exulted in their escape, one only excepted : if
uny person erected a building in its vicinity, which by its
shade obstructed the light of the church, it forthwith became
a ruin. And it is sufficiently evident, that, the men of that
province had no oath more frev|uent, or more sacred, than to
swear by the Old Church, fearing the swiftest vengeance on
their perjury in this respect. The truth of what I have
asserted, if it be dubious, will be supported by testimony in
the book which I have written, on the antiquity of the said
church, according to the series of years.

In the meantime it is clear, that the depository of so
many saints may be deservedly styled an heavenly sanctuary
upon earth. There are numbers of documents, though I
abstain from mentioning them for fear of causing weariness,
to prove how extremely venerable this place was held by the
chief persons of the country, who there more especially chose
to await the day of resurrection under the protection of the
mother of God. Willingly would I declare the meaning of
those pyramids, which are almost incomprehensible to all,
could I but ascertain the truth. These, situated some few
feet from the church, border on the cemetery of the monks.
That wliich is the loftiest and nearest the church, is twenty-
eight feet high and has five stories : this, though threatening
ruin from its extreme age, possesses nevertheless some traces
of antiquity, which may be clearly read though not perfectly
understood. In the highest story is an image in a pontifical
habit. In the next a statue of regal dignity, and the letters,
Her Sexi, and Blisperh. In the third, too, are the names,
Pencrest, Bantomp, Pinepegn. In the fourth. Bate, Pulfred,
and Eanfied. In the fifth, which is the lowest, there is an
image, and the words as follow, Logor, Peslicas, and Breg-"
den, Spelpes, Highingendes Beam. The other pyramid is
twenty-six feet high and has four stories, in which are read,
Kentwin, Hedda the bishop, and Bregored and Beorward.
The meaning of these I do not hastily decide, but I shrewdly
conjecture that within, in stone coffins, are contained the

by handling hot iron, plunging the ann into hot water, throwing the accused
;nto water, &c. If, after three days, the party exhibited no mark of
burning in the two former ; or if he did not sink in the latter experiment,
he was considered innocent. The whole was conducted with great solem-
uity ; the ritual may be seen in Spelraan, voce Ordalium.

24 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b, :. i J.

bones of those persons whose names are inscribed without.*
At least Logor is said to imply the person from whom Log-
peresbeorh formerly took its name, which is now called Mon-
tacute; Bregden, from whom is derived BrentknoUe and
Brentmarsh; Bregored and Beorward were abbats of that
place in the time of the Britons ; of whom, and of others
which occur, I shall henceforward speak more circumstan-
tially. For my history will now proceed to disclose the suc-
cession of abbats, and what was bestowed on each, or on the
monastery, and by what particular king.

And first, I shall briefly mention St. Patrick, from whom
the series of our records dawns. While the Saxons were
disturbing the peace of the Britons, and the Pelagians as-
saulting their faith,. St. Germanus of Auxerre assisted them
against both ; routing the one by the chorus of Hallelujah,"|"
"and hurling down the other by the thunder of the Evan-
gelists and Apostles. Thence returning to his own country,
he summoned Patrick to become his inmate, and after a few
years, sent him, at the instance of Pope Celestine, to preach
to the Irish. Whence it is written in the Chronicles, "In
the year of our Lord's incarnation 425, St. Patrick is or-
dained to Ireland by Pope Celestine." Also, "In the year
433 Ireland is converted to the faith of Christ by the preach-
ing of St. Patrick, accompanied by many miracles." In con-
sequence executing his appointed office with diligence, and in
his latter days returning to his own country, he landed in
Cornwall, from his altar, J which even to this time is held in
high veneration by the inhabitants for its sanctity and efli-
cacy in restoring the infirm. Proceeding to Glastonbury,
and -there becoming monk, and abbat, after some years he
paid the debt of nature. All doubt of the truth of this

* The Saxon mode of interment appears frequently to have been under
pyramids or obelisks. See Anglia Sacra, ii. 1 1 0.

t St. Germanus drew up a body of his new converts in a valley surrounded
on every side by mountains, and, on the approach of their enemies, ordered
that on a given signal, all should shout " Hallelujah." The sudden sound,
being reverberated by the surrounding mountains, struck their foes with
such a panic, that they instantly fled. See Bede, Hist. Eccl. b. i. c. 20.

X Patrick is said to have floated over, from Ireland, on this altar, and to
have landed near Padstow in Cornwall. Gough's Camden, i. 19. Malmes-
bury appears to have been misled by the Glastonbury historian, so as to con-
found St. Patrick with St. Petrock. From the latter, the town of Padstow de-
rives its name, as is proved by Whitaker, in his Ancie: t Cathedral of CornA'ail.

A.D. 425— 474.] D^ATH OF ST. PATRICK. 25

assertion is removed by the vision of a certain brother, who,
after the saint's death, when it had frequently become a
question, through decay of evidence, whether he really was
monk and abbat there, had the fact confirmed by the follow-
ing oracle. When asleep he seemed to hear some person
reading, after many of his miracles, the words which follow
— " this man then was adorned by the sanctity of the metro-
politan pall, but afterwards was here made monk and abbat."
He added, moreover, as the brother did not give implicit
credit to him, that he could show what he had said inscribed
in golden letters. Patrick died in the year of his age 111,
of our Lord's incarnation 472, being the forty-seventh year
after he was sent into Ireland. He lies on the right side of
the altar in the old church : indeed the care of posterity has
enshrined his body in silver. Hence the Irish have an an-
cient usage of frequenting the place to kiss the relics of their
patron. Wherefore the report is extremely prevalent that
both St. Indract and St. Briget, no mean inhabitants of
Ireland, formerly came over to this spot. Whether Briget
returned home or died at Glastonbury is not sufficiently
ascertained, though she left here some of her ornaments;
that is to say, her necklace, scrip, and implements for em-
broidering, which are yet shown in memory of her sanctity,
and are efficacious in curing divers diseases. In the course
of my narrative it will appear that St. Indract, with seven
companions, was martyred near Glastonbury, and afterwards
interred in the old church.*

Benignus succeeded Patrick in the government of the
abbey ; but for how long, remains in doubt. Who he was,
and how called in the vernacular tongue, the verses of his
epitaph at Ferramere express, not inaptly :

Beneath this marble Beon's ashes lie.
Once rev'rend abbat of this monastery :
Saint Patrick's servant, as the Irish frame
The legend-tale, and Beon was his name.

The wonderful works both of his former life, and since his
recent translation into the greater church, proclaim the sin-

•* On their return from a pilgrimage to Rome they designed visiting
Glastonbury, out of respect to St. Patrick; and filled their scrips with
parsley and various other seeds, which they purposed carrying to Ire-
land, but their staves being tipped with brass, which was mistaken for gold,
they were murdered for the supposed booty.

26 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. i. c 1,

gular grace of God whicli he anciently possessed, and which
he still retains.

The esteem in which David, archbishop of Menevia, held
this place, is too notorious to require repeating. He esta-
blished the antiquity and sanctity of the church by a divine
oracle ; for purposing to dedicate it, he came to the spot with
his seven suffragan bishops, and every thing being prepared
for the due celebration of the solemnity, on the night, as he
purposed, preceding it, he gave way to profound repose.
When all his senses were steeped in rest, he beheld the Lord
Jesus ^standing near, and mildly inquiring the cause of his
arrival ; and on his immediately disclosing it, the Lord di-
verted him from his purpose by saying, " That the church
had been already dedicated by himself in honour of his Mo-
ther, and that the ceremony was not to be profaned by hu-
man repetition." With these words he seemed to bore the
palm of his hand with his finger, adding, " That this was a
sign for him not to reiterate what himself had done before.
But that, since his design savoured more of piety than of
temerity, his punishment should not be prolonged : and
lastly, that on the following morning, when he should repeat
the words of the mass, * With him, and by him, and in him,'
his health should return to him undiminished." The prelate,
awakened by these terrific appearances, as at the moment he
grew pale at the purulent matter, so afterwards he hailed the
truth of the prediction. But that he might not appear to
have done nothing, he quickly built and dedicated another
church. Of this celebrated and incomparable man, I am at
a loss to decide, whether he closed his life in this place, or at
his own cathedral. For they aflirm that he is with St. Pa-
trick ; and the Welsh, both by the frequency of their prayers
to him and by various reports, without doubt confirm and
establish this opinion ; openly alleging that bishop Bernard
sought after him more than once, notwithstanding much
opposition, but was not able to find him. But let thus much
suffice of St. David.

After a long lapse of time, St. Augustine, at the instance
of St. Gregory, came into Britain in the year of our Lord's
incarnation 596, and the tradition of our ancestors has
handed down, that the companion of his labours, Paulinus,
who was bishop of Rochester after being archbishop of

A.D. 596— 692.] GRANTS TO GLASTONBURf. 97

York, covered the church, built, as we have before obsei*ved,
of wattle-work, with a casing of boards. The dexterity
of this celebrated man so artfully managed, that nothing of
its sanctity should be lost, though much should accrue to its
"beauty : and certainly the more magnificent the ornaments of
churches are, the more they incline the brute mind to prayer,
and bend the stubborn to supplication.

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 601, that is, the fifth
after the arrival of St. Augustine, the king of Devonshire, on
the petition of abbat Worgrez, granted to the old church
which is there situated the land called Ineswitrin, containing
five cassates.* "I, Maworn, bishop, wrote this grant. I,
Worgrez, abbat of the same place, signed it."

Who this king might be, the antiquity of the instrument
prevents our knowing. But that he was a Briton cannot be
doubted, because he called Glastonbury, Ineswitrin, in his
vernacular tongue ; and that, in the British, it is so called, is
well known. Moreover it is proper to remark the extreme
antiquity of a church, which, even then, was called " the old
church." In addition to Worgrez, Lademund and Bregored,
whose very names imply British barbarism, were abbats of
this place. The periods of their presiding are uncertain, but
their names and dignities are indicated by a painting in the
larger church, near the altar. Blessed, therefore, are the
inhabitants of this place, allured to uprightness of life, by
reverence for such a sanctuary. I cannot suppose that any
of tliese, when dead, can fail of heaven, when assisted by
the virtues and intercession of so many patrons. In the
year of our Lord's incarnation 670, and the 29th of his
reign, Kenwalk gave to Berthwald, abbat of Glastonbury,
Ferramere, two hides, at the request of archbishop Theo-
dore. The same Berthwald, against the will of the king
and of the bishop of the diocese, relinquishing Glastonbury,
went to govern the monastery of Reculver. In consequence,
Berthwald equally renowned for piety and high birth, being
nephew to Ethelred, king of the Mercians, and residing in
the vicinity of Canterbury, on the demise of archbishop
Theodore, succeeded to his see. This may be sufficient for
me to have inserted on the antiquity of the church of Glas-

♦ It is understood as synonymous with hide, or as much land as out
plough could till.

28 WILLIAH OP MALMESBURT. LB,i.c.t,

tonbury. Now I shall return in course to Kenwalk, who
was of a character so munificent that he never refused to
give any part of his patrimony to his relations; but with
noble-minded generosity conferred nearly the third of his
kingdom on his nephew.* These qualities of the royal
mind, were stimulated by the admonitions of those holy
bishops of his province, A gilbert, of whom Bede relates
many commendable things in his history of the Angles, and
his nephew Leutherius, who, afte£> him, was, for seven years,
bishop of the West Saxons, x^^is circumstance I have
thought proper to mention, because Bede has left no account
of the duration of his episcopacy, and to disguise a fact
which I learn from the Chronicles, would be against my
conscience"?? besides, it affords an opportunity for making
mention of^a distinguished man, who by a mind, clear, and
almost divinely inspired, advanced the monastery of Malmes-
bury, where I carry on my earthly warfare, to the highest
pitch. This monastery was so slenderly endowed by Mail-
dulph, a Scot, as they say, by nation, a philosopher by eru-
dition, and a monk by profession, that its members could
scarcely procure their daily subsistence; but Leutherius,
after long and due deliberation, gave it to Aldhelm,f a monk
of the same place, to be by him governed with the authority
then possessed by bishops. Of which matter, that my rela-
tion may obviate every doubt, I shall subjoin his own words.
"I, Leutherius, by divine permission, bishop supreme of
the Saxon see, am requested by the abbats who, within the
jurisdiction of our diocese, preside over the conventual as-
semblies of monks with pastoral anxiety, to give and to
grant that portion of land called Maildulfesburgh, to Aid-
helm the priest, for the purpose of leading a life according
to strict rule; in which place, indeed, from his earliest in-
fancy and first initiation in the study of learning, he has
been instructed in the liberal arts, and passed his days, nur-
tured in the bosom of the holy mother church ; and on which
account fraternal love appears principally to have conceived
this request. Wherefore assenting to the petition of the
aforesaid abbats, I willingly grant that place to him and hia
successors, who shall sedulously follow the laws of the holy

• Cuthred. According to the Saxon Chronicle, he bfestowed on him
3000 hides of land, f Bede, in « Chronicles of the Anglo-Saxons," p. 267

f

A.D. 670.3 PIETY OP ALDHELM. 29

institution. Done publicly near the river Bladon;* this
eighth before the kalends of September, in the year of our
liOrd's incarnation 672."

But when the industry of the abbat was superadded to
the kindness of the bishop, then the affairs of the monastery
began to flourish exceedingly ; then monks assembled on all
sides; there was a general concourse to Aldhelm; some ad-
miring the sanctity of his life, others the depth of his learn-
ing. For he was a man as unsophisticated in religion as
multifarious in knowledge ; whose piety surpassed even his
reputation ; and he had so fully imbibed the liberal arts, that
he was wonderful in each of them, and unrivalled in all. I
greatly err, if his works written on the subject of virginity, f
than which, in my opinion, nothing can be more pleasing or
more splendid, are not proofs of his immortal genius : al-
though, such is the slothfulness of our times, they may
excite disgust in some persons, not duly considering how
modes of expression differ according to the customs of
nations. The Greeks, for instance, express themselves im-
pliedly, the Romans clearly, the Gauls gorgeously, the
Angles turgidly. And truly, as it is pleasant to dwell on
the graces of our ancestors and to animate our minds by
their example, I would here, most willingly, unfold what
painful labours this holy man encountered for the privileges
of our church, and with what miracles he signalized his life,
did not my avocations lead me elsewhere ; and his noble acts
appear clearer even to the eye of the purblind, than they
can possibly be sketched by my pencil. The innumerable
miracles which now take place at his tomb, manifest to the
present race the sanctity of the life he passed. He has
therefore his proper praise; he has the fame acquired by
his merits. J We proceed with the history.

• Where this river was is not known : it has been conjectured it should
be Avon. Malmesbury is also said to have been originally called Bladon.

f De Laudibus Virginitatis. His "Commendation of Virginity," was
first written in prose: and was printed by H. Wharton, 4to. 1693. He
afterwards versified it with occasional amplifications or omissions. Some
MSS. give the date as 671: others 672; and others again 675. See Cani-
siu8, Antiquse Lectiones, t. i. 713. Ed. Basnagii. The whole works of
Aldhelm have been collected for the first time by the present editor, and
form vol. i. of Patres Ecclesi^ Anglican^

$ Malmesbury afterwards wrote the life of Aldhelm. It ought to form

80 ^riLLIAM OF MALMESBITRY- [b. i. c. J.

After thirty-one years, Kenwalk dpng, bequeathed the
administration of the government to his wife Sexburga ; nor
did this woman want spirit for discharging the duties of the
station. She levied new forces, preserved the old in their
duty; ruled her subjects with moderation, and overawed her
enemies : in short, she conducted all things in such a manner,
that no difference was discernible except that of her sex.
But, breathing more than female spirit, she died, having
scarcely reigned a year.

Escwin passed the next two years in the government; a
near relation to the royal family, being grand-nephew to
Cynegils, by his brother Cuthgist. At his death, either
natural or violent, for I cannot exactly find which, Kentwin,
the son of Cynegils, filled the vacant throne in legitimate
succession. Both were men of noted experience in war ; as
the one routed the Mercians, the other the Britons, with
dreadful slaughter : but they were to be pitied for the short-
ness of their career ; the reign of the latter not extending
beyond nine, that of the former, more than two years, as I
have already related. This is on the credit of the Chronicles.
However, Bede records that they did not reign successively,
but divided the kingdom between them.

Next sprang forth a noble branch of the royal stock, Casd-
walla, grand-nephew of Ceawlin, by his brother Cutha : a
youth of unbounded promise, who allowed no opportunity of
exercising his valour to escape him. He, having long since,
by his active exertions, excited the animosity of the princes
of his country, was, by a conspiracy, driven into exile.
Yielding to this outrage, as the means of depriving the
province of its warlike force, he led away all the military
population with him ; for, whether out of pity to his broken
fortunes, or regard for his valour, the whole of the youth
accompanied him into exile. Ethelwalch, king of the South
Saxons, hazarding an engagement with him, felt the first
effects of his fury : for he was routed with all the forces he had
collected, and too late repented his rash design.* The spirits
of his followers being thus elated, Caedwalla, by a sudden
and unexpected return, drove the rivals of his power from

the fifth book " de Gentis P&ntifieum'' but has never yet been printed in
the same volume with the four preceding books.
• . See Bede, b. iv. a 16.

A.D. 686- 694.] INA. 31

the kingdom. Enjoying his government lor the space of
two years, he performed many signal exploits. His hatred
and hostility towards the South Saxons were inextinguish-
able, and he totally destroyed Edric, the successor of Ethel-
walch, who opposed him with renovated boldness : he nearly
depopulated the Isle of Wight, which had rebelled in con-
federacy with the Mercians : he also gained repeated victories
over the people of Kent, as I have mentioned before in their
history. Finally, as is observed above, he retired from that
province, on the death of his brother, compensating his loss
by the blood of many of its inhabitants. It is difficult to
relate, how extremely pious he was even before his baptism,
insomuch that he dedicated to God the tenth of all the spoils
which he had acquired in war. In which, though we ap-
prove the intention, we condemn the example ; according to
the saying : " He who offers sacrifice from the substance of
a poor man, is like him who immolates the son in the sight
of the father." That he went to Rome to be baptized by
Pope Sergius, and was called Peter; and that he yielded
joyfully to the will of heaven, while yet in his initiatory
robes, are matters too well known to require our illustration.
After his departure to Rome, the government was assumed
by Ina, grand-nephew of Cynegils by his brother Cuthbald,
who ascended the throne, more from the innate activity of
his spirit, than any legitimate right of succession. He was
a rare example of fortitude ; a mirror of prudence ; un-
equalled in piety. Thus regulating his life, he gained favour
at home and respect abroad. Safe from any apprehensions
of treachery, he grew old in the discharge of his duties for
fifty-eight years, the pious conciliator of general esteem.
His first expedition was against the people of Kent, as the
indignation at their burning Moll had not yet subsided.
The inhabitants resisted awhile : but soon finding all their
attempts and endeavours fail, and seeing nothing in the dis-
position of Ina which could lead them to suppose he would
remit his exertions, they were induced, by the contemplation
of their losses, to treat of a surrender. They tempt the
royal mind with presents, lure him with promises, and
bargain for a peace for thirty thousand marks of gold, that,
softened by so high a price, he should put an end to the
war, and, bound in golden chains, sound a re^^eat. Accept-

32 WILLJAM. OP MALMESBUHY. ^b- ,. e. 4

ing the money, as a sufficient atonement for their offence, he
returned into his kingdom, ^nd not only the people of
Kent, but the East Angles* also felt the eifects of his here-
ditary anger ; all their nobility being first expelled, and
afterwards routed in battle. But let th^relation of his mili-
tary successes here find a termination,/jMoreover how sedu-
lous he was in religious matters, the I^s he enacted to re-
form the manners of the people, are proof sufficient ;t in
which the image of his purity is reflected even upon the
present time^> Another proof are the monasteries nobly
founded at ti(e king's expense. ButJ more especially Glas-
tonbury, whither he ordered the bodies of the blessed martyr,
Indract, and of his associates, to be taken from the place of
their martyrdom and to be conveyed into the church. The
body of St. Indract he deposited in the stone pyramid on
the left side of the altar, where the zeal of posterity after-
wards also placed St. Hilda : the others were distributed
beneath the pavement as chance directed or regard might
suggest. Here, too, he erected a church, dedicated to the
holy apostles, as an appendage to the ancient church, of which
we are speaking, enriched it with vast possessions, and
grajited it a privilege to the following effect :

^M[n the name of our Lord Jesus Christ : I, Ina, sup-
port^ in my royal dignity by God, with the advice of my
queen, Sexburga, and the permission of Berthwald, archbishop
of Canterbury, and of all his suffragans ; and also at the in-
stance of the princes Baltred and Athelard, to the ancient
church, situate in the place called Glastonbury (which church
the great high-priest and chiefest minister formerly through
his own ministry, and that of angels, sanctified by many and
unheard-of miracles to himself and the eternal Virgin Mary,
as was formerly revealed to St. David,) do grant out of those

• The Saxon Chronicle and Florence of Worcester mention his attacks
on the South Saxons, but do not notice the East Angles.

+ See Wilkins's Leges Anglo-Saxonicse.

X Some manuscripts omit all that follows to " Berthwald, archbishop of
Canterbury," p, 35, and insert in place of it " More especially that at Glas-
tonbury most celebrated in our days, which he erected in a low retired
situation, in order that the monks mi^ht more eagerly thirst after heavenly,
in proportion as they were less affected by earthly things." Sharpe in-
serts the shorter passage in his text, and gives the longer in a note.

[

AA725.J INA's grants. feS

places, which I possess by paternal inlieritance, and hold
in my demesne, they being adjacent and fitting for the pur-
pose, for the maintenance of the monastic institution, and the
use of the monks, Brente ten hides, Sowy ten hides, Pilton
twenty hides, Dulting twenty hides, Bledenhida one hide,
together with whatever my predecessors have contributed to
the same church :* to wit, Kenwalk, who, at the instance of
archbishop Theodore, gave Ferramere, Bregarai, Coneneie,
Martineseie, Etheredseie ; Kentwin, who used to call Glaston-
bury, " the mother of saints," and liberated it from every
secular and ecclesiastical service, and granted it this dignified
privilege, that the brethren of that place should have the power
of electing and appointing their ruler according to the rule of
St. Benedict : Hedda the bishop, with permission of Casdwalla,
who, though a heathen, confirmed it with his own hand, gave
Lantokay : Baltred, who gave Pennard, six hides : Athelard
who contributed Poelt, sixty hides ; I, Ina, permitting and
confirming it. To the piety and affectionate entreaty of these
people I assent, and I guard by the security of my royal grant
against the designs of malignant men and snarling curs, in
order that the church of our Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal
Virgin Mary, as it is the first in the kingdom of Britain and
the source and the fountain of all religion, may obtain sur-
passing dignity and privilege, and, as she rules over choirs of
angels in heaven, it may never pay servile obedience to men
on earth. Wherefore the chief pontiff*, Gregory, assenting,
and taking the mother of his Lord, and me, however un-
worthy, together with her, into the bosom and protection of
the holy Roman church ; and all the princes, archbishops,
bishops, dukes, and abbats of Britain consenting, I appoint
and establish, that, all lands, places, and possessions of St.
Mary of Glastonbury be free, quiet, and undisturbed, from all
royal taxes and works, which are wont to be appointed, that
is to say, expeditions, the building of bridges or forts, and
from the edicts or molestations of all archbishops or bishops,
as is found to be confirmed and granted by my predecessors,
Kenwalk, Kentwin, Caedwalla, Baltred, in the ancient charters
of the same church. And whatsoever questions shall arise,
whether of homicide, sacrilege, poison, theft, rapine, the dis-

* See Komble's Charters, vol. i. p. 85.

34 TVILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b.i. cf.*

posal ard limits of churches, the ordination of clerks, eccle-
siastical synods, and all judicial inquiries, they shall be deter-
mined by the decision of the abbat and convent, without the
interference of any person whatsoever. Moreover, I command
all princes, archbishops, bishops, dukes, and governors of my
kingdom, as they tender my honour and regard, and all de-
pendants, mine as well as theirs, as they value their personal
safety, never to dare enter the island of our Lord Jesus
Christ and of the eternal Virgin, at Glastonbury, nor the
possessions of the said church, for the purpose of holding
courts, making inquiry, or seizing, or doing anything what-
ever to the offence of the servants of God there residing :
moreover I particularly inhibit, by the curse of Almighty
God, of the eternal Virgin Mary, and of the holy apostles
Peter and Paul, and of the rest of the saints, any bishop on
any account whatever from presuming to take his episcopal
seat or celebrate divine service or consec^rate altars, or dedi-
cate churches, or ordain, or do any thing whatever, either in
the church of Glastonbury itself, or its dependent churches,
that is to say — Sowy, Brente, Merlinch, Sapewic, Stret,
Sbudeclalech, Pilton, or in their chapels, or islands, unless he
be specially invited by the abbat or brethren of that place.
But if he come upon such invitation, he shall take nothing
to himself of the things of the church, nor of the offerings ;
knowing that he has two mansions appointed him in two
several places out of this church's possessions, one in Pilton,
the other in the village called Poelt, that, when coming or
going, he may have a place of entertainment. Nor even
shall it be lawful for him to pass the night here unless he
shall be detained by stress of weather or bodily sickness, or
invited by the abbat or monks, and then with not more than
three or four clerks. Moreover let the aforesaid bishop be
mindful every year, with his clerks that are at Wells, to
acknowledge his mother church of Glastonbury with litanies
on the second day after our Lord's ascension ; and should he
haughtily defer it, or fail in the things which are above re-
cited and confirmed, he shall forfeit his mansions above men-
tioned. The abbat or monks shall direct whom they please,
celebrating Easter canonically, to perform service in the
church of Glastonbury, its dependent churches, and in their
chapels. Whosoever, be he of what dignity, profession, or

A.D. 70»0 ENDOWMENT OF GLASTONBURY. 36

degree, lie may, shall hereafter, on any occasion whatsoever,
attempt to pervert, or nullify this, the witness of my munifi-
cence and liberaHty, let him be aware that, with the traitor
Judas, he shall perish, to his eternal confusion, in the de-
vouring flames of unspeakable torments. The charter of
this donation was written in the year of our Lord's incarna-
tion 725, the fourteenth of the indiction, in the presence of
the king Ina, and of Berthwald, archbishop of Canterbury^
What splendour he [Ina] added to the monastery, may be
collected from the short treatise which I have written about
its antiquities.* Father Aldhelm assisted the design, and
his precepts were heard with humility, nobly adopted, and
joyfully carried into effect. Lastly, the king readily con-
firmed the privilege which Aldhelm had obtained from pope
Sergius, for the immunity of his monasteries ; gave much to
the servants of God by his advice, and finally honoured him,
though constantly refusing, with a bishopric ; but an early
death malignantly cut off this great man from the world.
For scarcely had he discharged the offices of his bishopric
four years, ere he made his soul an offering to heaven, in
the year of our Lord's incarnation 709, on the vigil of St.
Augustine the apostle of the Angles, namely the eighth be-
fore the Kalends of June.f Some say, that he was the
nephew of the king, by his brother Kenten ; but I do not
choose to assert for truth any thing which savours more of
vague opinion, than of historic credibility ; especially as I
can find no ancient record of it, and the Chronicle clearly de-
clares, that Ina had no other brother than Ingild, who died
some few years before him. Aldhelm needs no support from
fiction : such great things are there concerning him of indis-
putable truth, so many which are beyond the reach of doubt.
The sisters, indeed, of Ina were Cuthburga and Cwenburga.
Cuthburga was given in marriage to Alfrid, king of the
Northumbrians, but the contract being soon after dissolved,
she led a life dedicated to God, first at Barking,;]: under the
abbess Hildelitha, and afterwards as superior of the convent
at Wimborne ; now a mean village, but formerly celebrated

* The Antiquities of Glastonbury were published about the same time
by Gale, vol. iii. and by Hearne.

t The 25th of May. * Bede, Eccl. Hiijt. b. iv. c. 7—10.

6) TVTLLIA3I OF MALMESBURT. [b.i.c.8,

for containing a full company of virgins, dead to earthly
desires, and breathing only aspirations towards heaven.
She embraced the profession of holy celibacy from the peru-
sal of Aldhelm's books on virginity, dedicated indeed to the
sisterhood of Barking, but profitable to all, who aspire to
that state. Ina's queen was Ethelburga, a woman of royal
race and disposition : who perpetually urging the necessity
of bidding adieu to earthly things, at least in the close of
life, and the king as constantly deferring the execution of
her advice, at last endeavoured to overcome him by strata-
gem. For, on a certain occasion, when they had been
revelling at a country seat with more than usual riot and
luxury, the next day, after their departure, an attendant,
with the privity of the queen, defiled the palace in every
possible manner, both with the excrement of cattle and heaps
of filth ; and lastly he put a sow, which had recently far-
rowed, in the very bed where they had lain. They had
hardly proceeded a mile, ere she attacked her husband with
the fondest conjugal endearments, entreating that they might
[.immediately return thither, whence they had departed, say-
▼ ing, that his denial would be attended with dangerous con-
sequences. Her petition being readily granted, the king was
astonished at seeing a place, which yesterday might have
vied with Assyrian luxury, now filthily disgusting and deso-
late : and silently pondering on the sight, 'his eyes at length
turned upon the queen. Seizing the opportunity, and plea-
santly smiling, she said, " My noble spouse, where are the
revellings of yesterday ? Where the tapestries dipped in
Sidonian dyes ? Where the ceaseless impertinence of para-
sites ? Where the sculptured vessels, overwhelming the very
tables with their weight of gold ? Where are the delicacies
so anxiously sought throughout sea and land, to pamper the
appetite ? Are not all these things smoke and vapour ?
Have they not all passed away ? Woe be to those who attach
themselves to such, for they in like manner shall consume
away. Are not all these like a rapid river hastening to the
sea ? And woe to those who are attached to them, for they
shall be carried away by the current. Reflect, I entreat you,
how wretchedly will these bodies decay, which we pamper
Avith such unbounded luxury. Must not we, who gorge so
constantly, become more disgustingly putrid ? The mighty

A.D. 725-741.] ETHELAED CUTHRED. 37

must undergo mightier torments, and a severer trial awaits
the strong." Without saying more, by this striking example,
she gained over her husband to those sentiments, which she
had in vain attempted for years by persuasion.*

For after his triumphal spoils in war ; after many succes-
sive degrees in virtue, he aspired to the highest perfection,
and went to Rome. There, not to make the glory of his
conversion public, but that he might be acceptable in the
sight of God alone, he was shorn in secret ; and, clad in
homely garb, grew old in privacy. Nor did his queen, the
author of this noble deed, desert him ; but as she had before
incited him to undertake it, so, afterwards, she made it her .
constant care to soothe his sorrows by her conversation, to
stimulate him, when wavering, by her example ; in short, to
omit nothing that could be conducive to his salvation. Thus
united in mutual affection, in due time they trod the common
path of all mankind. This was attended, as we have heard,
•with singular miracles, such as God often deigns to bestow
on the virtues of happy couples.

To the government succeeded Ethelard, the cousin of Ina ;
though Oswald, a youth of royal extraction, often obscured
his opening prospects. Exciting his countrymen to rebellion,
he attempted to make war on the king, but soon after perish-
ing by some unhappy doom, Ethelard kept quiet possession
of the kingdom for fourteen years, and then left it to his
kinsman, Cuthred, who for an equal space of time, and with
similar courage, was ever actively employed : —

" In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I, Cuthred, king
of the West Saxons, do hereby declare that all the gifts of
former kings — Kentwin, Baldred, Kedwall, Ina, Ethelard,
and Ethbald king of the Mercians, in country houses, and in
villages and lands, and farms, and mansions, according to the
confirmations made to the ancient city of Glastonbury, and
confirmed by autograph and by the sign of the cross, I do, as
was before said, hereby decree that this grant of former kings
shall remain firm and inviolate, as long as the revolution of
the pole shall carry the lands and seas with regular move-

* All this passage, fit)m " What splendour, p. 35, to persuasion," is omit-
ted in some MSS., and is given in a note by Hardy and Sharpe ; but it
Beema almost necessary ta the context.

38 WILLIAil OF MALMESBURT. L» !• n. 1»

ment round the starry heavens. But if any one, confiding
in tyrannical pride shall endeavour on any occasion to dis-
turb and nullify this my testamentary grant, may he be sepa-
rated by the fan of the last judgment from the congregation
of the righteous, and joined to the assembly of the wicked
for ever, paying the penalty of his violence. But whoever
with benevolent intention shall strive to approve, confirm,
and defend this my grant, may he be allowed to enjoy un-
failing immortality before the glory of Him that sitteth on
the throne, together with the happy companies of angels and of
all the saints. A copy of this grant was set forth in presence
of king Cuthred, in the aforesaid monastery, and dedicated
to the holy altar by the munificence of his own hand, in the
wooden church, where the brethren placed the coffin of abbat
Hemgils, the 30th of April, in the year of our Lord 745."

The same Cuthred, after much toil, made a successful cam-
l^aign against Ethelbald, king of Mercia, and the Britons,
and gave up the sovereignty after he had held it fourteen
years.

Sigebert then seized on the kingdom ; a man of inhuman
cruelty among his own subjects, and noted for cowardice
abroad ; but the common detestation of all conspiring* against
him, he was within a year driven from the throne, and gave
place to one more worthy. Yet, as commonly happens in
similar cases, the severity of his misfortunes brought back
some persons to his cause, and the province which is called
Hampshire, was, by their exertions, retained in subjection to
him. Still, however, unable to quit his former habits, and
exciting the enmity of all against him by the murder of one
Cumbran, who had adhered to him with unshaken fidelity,
he fled to the recesses of wild beasts. Misfortune still
attending him thither also, he was stabbed by a swineherd.
Thus the cruelty of a king, which had almost desolated the
higher ranks, was put an end to by a man of the lowest
condition.

Cynewolf next undertook the guidance of the state ; illus-
trious for the regulation of his conduct and his deeds in arms :
but suffering extremely from the loss of a single battle, in the
the twenty-fourth year of his reign, against Offa, king of the
Mercians, near Bensington, he was also finally doomed to a
di«igraceful death. For after he had reigned thirty-one

A.T>.776— 784.] DEATH OF CYNEWOLF. 39

years,* neither indolently nor oppressively, either elated with
success, because he imagined nothing could oppose him, or
alarmed for his posterity, from the increasing power of
Kineard, the brother of Sigebert, he compelled him to quit
the kingdom. Kineard, deeming it necessary to yield to the
emergency of the times, departed as if voluntarily ; but soon
after, when by secret meetings he had assembled a desperate
band of wretches, watching when the king might be alone,
for he had gone into the country for the sake of recreation,
he followed him thither with his party. And learning that
he was there giving loose to improper desires, he beset the
house on all sides. The king struck with his perilous situa-
tion, and holding a conference with the persons present, shut
fast the doors, expecting either to appease the desperadoes
by fair language, or to terrify them by threats. When
neither succeeded, he rushed furiously on Kineard, and had
nearly killed him ; but, surrounded by the multitude, and
thinking it derogatory to his courage to give way, he fell,
selling his life nobly. Some few of his attendants, who, in-
stead of yielding, attempted to take vengeance for the loss of
their lord, were slain. The report of this dreadful outrage
soon reached the ears of the nobles, who were waiting near
at hand. Of these Esric, the chief in age and prudence,
conjuring the rest not to leave unrevenged the death of their
sovereign to their own signal and eternal ignominy, rushed
with drawn sword upon the conspirators. At first Kineard
attempted to argue his case ; to make tempting offers ; to
hold forth their relationship ; but when this availed nothing,
he stimulated his party to resistance. Doubtful was the con-
flict, where one side contended with all its powers for life,
the other for glory. And victory, wavering for a long time,
at last decided for the juster cause. Thus, fruitlessly valiant,
this unhappy man lost his life, unable long to boast the suc-
cess of his treachery. The king's body was buried at Win-
chester, and the prince's at Repton ; at that time a noble
monastery, but at present, as I have heard, with few, or
scarcely any inmates.

* Malmesbury here perpetuates the error of the transcriber of the Saxon
Chronicle, in assigning thirty-one years to Cynewoif, for as he came to the
throne in 756, and was killed in 784, consequently he reigned about
twenty-nine years. Perhaps he wrote, correctly, " uno de triginta annis"
conjectures Mr. Hardy,

40 WILLIAM OV MALMESBURY. [b r- c. 3.

After him, for sixteen years, reigned Bertric : more
studious of peace than of war. Skilful in conciliating
friendship, affable with foreigners, and giving great allow-
ances to his subjects, in those matters at least which could
not impair the strength of the government. To acquire still
greater estimation with his neighbours, he married the
daughter of Offa, king of Mercia, at that time all-powerful ;
by whom, as far as I am acquainted, he had no issue.
Supported by this alliance he compelled Egbert, the sole
survivor of the royal stock, and whom he feared as the most
effectual obstacle to his power, to fly into France. In fact
Bertric himself, and the other kings, after Ina, though
glorying in the splendour of their parentage, as deriving
their origin from Cerdic, had considerably deviated from the
direct line of the royal race. On Egbert's expulsion, then,
he had already begun to indulge in indolent security, when
a piratical tribe of the Danes, accustomed to live by plunder,
clandestinely arriving in three ships, disturbed the tran-
quillity of the kingdom. This band came over expressly to
ascertain the fruitfulness of the soil, and the courage of the
inhabitants, as was afterwards discovered by the arrival of
that multitude, which over-ran almost the whole of Britain.
Landing then, unexpectedly, when the kingdom was in a
state of profound peace, they seized upon a royal village,
which was nearest them, and killed the superintendent, who
had advanced with succours ; but losing their booty, through
fear of the people, who hastened to attack them, they retired
to their ships. After Bertric, who was buried at Warham,
Egbert ascended the throne of his ancestors ; justly to be
preferred to all the kings who preceded him. Thus having
brought down our narrative to his times, we must, as we
have promised, next give our attention to the Northumbrians.

CHAP. in.

Of the kings of the Northumbrians, [a.d. 450.]

We have before related briefly, and now necessarily repeat,
that Hengist, having settled his own government in Kent,
had sent his brother Otha, and his son Ebusa, men of
activity and tried experience, to seize on the northern parts
of Britain. Sedulous in executing the command, affairs

v.D. 450 -5«0.: IDA — ^ALLA. 41

succeeded to their wishes. For frequently coming into action
with the inhabitants, and dispersing those who attempted
resistance, they conciliated with uninterrupted quiet such as
submitted. Thus, though through their own address and
the good will of their followers, they had established a
certain degree of power, yet never entertaining an idea of
assuming the royal title, they left an example of similar
moderation to their inunediate posterity. For during the
space of ninety-nine years, the Northumbrian leaders,
contented with subordinate power, hved in subjection to the
kings of Kent. Afterwards, however, this forbearance
ceased ; either because the human mind is ever prone to
degeneracy, or because that race of people was naturally
ambitious. In the year, therefore, of our Lord's incarnation
547, the sixtieth after Hengist's death, the principality was
converted into a kingdom. The most noble Ida, in the full
vigour of life and of strength, first reigned there. But
whether he himself seized the chief authority, or received it
by the consent of others, I by no means venture to determine,
because the truth is unrevealed. However, it is sufficiently
evident, that, sprung from a great and ancient lineage, he
reflected much splendour' on his illustrious descent, by his
pure and unsullied manners. Unconquerable abroad, at
home he tempered his kingly power with peculiar affability.
Of this man, and of others, in their respective places, I
could lineally trace the descent, were it not that the very
names, of uncouth sound, would be less agreeable to my
readers than I wish. It may be proper though to remark,
that Woden had three sons ; Weldeg, Withleg, and Beldeg ;
from the first, the kings of Kent derived their origin ; from
the second, the kings of Mercia ; and from the third, the
kings of the West- Saxons and Northumbrians, with the
exception of the two I am going to particularize. This Ida,
then, the ninth from Beldeg, and the tenth from Woden, as
I find positively declared, continued in the government
fourteen years.

His successor Alia, originating from the same stock, but
descending from Woden by a diff*erent branch, conducted the
government, extended by his exertions considerably beyond
its former bounds, for thirty years. In his time, youths from
Northumbria were exposed for sale, after the common and

42 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [a. i. c. 3.

almost native custom of this people ; so that, even as our
days have witnessed, they would make no scruple o£-
separating the nearest ties of relationship through the
temptation of the slightest advantage. Some of these youths
then, carried from England for sale to Rome, became the
means of salvation to all their countrymen. For exciting
the attention of that city, by the beauty of their countenances
and the elegance of their features, it happened that, among
others, the blessed Gregory, at that time archdeacon of the
apostolical see, was present. Admiring such an assemblage
of grace in mortals, and, at the same time, pitying their
abject condition, as captives, he asked the standers-by, "of
what race are these ? Whence come they ? " They reply, " by
birth they are Angles ; by country are Deiri ; (Deira being
a province of Northumbria,) subjects of King Alia, and
Pagans." Their concluding characteristic he accompanied
with heartfelt sighs : to the others he elegantly alluded,
saying, "that these Angles, angel-like, should be delivered
from CdeJ ira, and taught to sing Alle-luiay Obtaining
permission without delay from pope Benedict, the industry
of this excellent man was all alive to enter on the journey to
convert them ; and certainly his zeal would have completed
this intended labour, had not the mutinous love of his
fellow citizens recalled him, already on his progress. He
was a man as celebrated for his virtues, as beloved by his
countrymen ; for by his matchless worth, he had even
exceeded the expectations they had formed of him from his
youth. His good intention, though frustrated at this time,
received afterwards, during his pontificate, an honourable
termination, as the reader will find in its proper place. I
have made this insertion with pleasure, that my readers
might not lose this notice of Alia, mention of whom is
slightly made in the life of Pope Gregory, who, although he
was the primary cause of introducing Christianity among
the Angles, yet, either by the counsel of God, or some
mischance, was never himself permitted to know it. The
calling, indeed, descended to his son.

On the death of Alia, Ethelric, the son of Ida, advanced
to extreme old age, after a life consumed in penury, obtained
the kingdom, and after five years, was taken off by a sudden
death. He was a pitiable prince, whom fame would have

A.D. 5S8— 603.] ETHELFRID. 43

hidden in obscurity, had not the conspicuous energy of the
son lifted up the father to notice.

When, therefore, by a long old age, he had satisfied the
desire of life, Ethelfrid, the elder of his sons, ascended the
throne, and compensated the greenness of his years by the
maturity of his conduct. His transactions have been so dis-
played by graceful composition, that they want no assistance
of mine, except as order is concerned. Bede has eagerly
dwelt on the praises of this man and his successors ; and has
dilated on the Northumbrians at greater length, because they
were his near neighbours : our history, therefore, wiU select
and compile from his relation. In order, however, that no
one may blame me for contracting so diffuse a narrative, I
must tell him that I have done it purposely, that they who
have been satiated with such high-seasoned delicacies, may
respire a little on these humble remnants : for it is a saying
trite by use and venerable for its age, " that the meats which
cloy the least are eaten with keenest appetite." Ethelfrid
then, as I was relating, having obtained the kingdom, began
at first vigorously to defend his own territories, afterwards
eagerly to invade his neighbours, and to seek occasion for
signalizing himself on all sides. Many wars were begun by
him with foresight, and terminated with success ; as he was
neither restrained from duty by indolence, nor precipitated
into rashness by courage. An evidence of these things is
Degstan,* a noted place in those parts, where Edan, king of
the Scots, envying Ethelfrid's successes, had constrained
him, though averse, to give battle ; but, being overcome, he
took to flight, though the triumph was not obtained without
considerable hazard to the victor. For Tedbald, the brother
of Ethelfrid, opposing himself to the most imminent dangers
that he might display his zeal in his brother's cause, left a
mournful victory indeed, being cut off with his whole party.
Another proof of his success is afforded by the city of Car-
legion, now commonly called Chester, which, till that period
possessed by the Britons, fostered the pride of a people hos-
tile to the king. When he bent his exertions to subdue this
city, the townsmen preferring any extremity to a siege, and
at the same confiding in their numbers, rushed out in multi-
tudes to battle. But deceived by a stratagem, they were

* Supposed Dalston near Ciirlia e, or Dawston near Ichborough.

44 WILLIAM OF JLVLMESBURY. [a i. C. *

overcome and put to flight ; his fury being first vented on
the monks, who came out in numbers to pray for the safety
of the army. That their number was incredible to these
times is apparent from so many half-destroyed walls oi
churches in the neighbouring monastery, so many winding
porticoes, such masses of ruins as can scarcely be seen else-
where. The place is called Bangor ; at that day a noted
monastery, but now changed into a cathedral.* Ethelfrid,
thus, while circumstances proceeded to his wishes abroad,
being desirous of warding off domestic apprehensions and
intestine danger, banished Edwin, the son of Alia, a youth
of no mean worth, from his kingdom and country. He,
wandering for a long time without any settled habitation,
found many of his former friends more inclined to his enemy
than to the observance of their engagements ; for as it is
said,

•* If joy be thine, 'tis then thy friends abound :
Misfortune comes, and thou alone art found." +

At last he came to E-edwald, king of the East Angles, and
bewailing his misfortunes, was received into his protection.
Shortly after there came messengers from Ethelfrid, either
demanding the surrender of the fugitive, or denouncing hos-
tilities. Determined by the advice of his wife not to violate,
through intimidation, the laws of friendship, Redwald col-
lected a body of troops, rushed against Ethelfrid, and at-
tacked him suddenly, whilst suspecting nothing less than an
assault. The only remedy that courage, thus taken by sur-
prise, could suggest, there being no time to escape, he availed
himself of. Wherefore, though almost totally unprepared,
though beset with fearful danger on every side, he fell not
till he had avenged his own death by the destruction of
Regnhere, the son of Redwald. Such an end had Ethelfrid,
after a reign of twenty-four years : a man second to none in
martial experience, but entirely ignorant of the holy faith.
He had two sons by Acca, the daughter of Alia, sister of
Edwin, Oswald aged twelve, and Oswy four years ; who,
upon the death of their father, fled through the management
of their governors, and escaped into Scotland.

* Malmesbury here confounds the ancient monastery of Banchor, neai
Chester, with the more modern see of Bangor in Carnarvonshire.
t Ovid. Trist. 1. 9, v. 5.

A.D. 617— 633.J EDWIN.

(fe

In this manner, all his rivals being slain or banished,
Edwin, trained by many adversities, ascended, not meanly
qualified, the summit of power. When the haughtiness of
the Northumbrians had bent to his dominion, his felicity was
crowned by the timely death of Redwald, whose subjects,
during Edwin's exile among them, having formerly experi-
enced his ready courage and ardent disposition, now wilhngly
swore obedience to him. Granting to the son of Redwald
the empty title of king, himself managed all things as he
thought fit. At this juncture, the hopes and the resources
of the Angles centred totally in him ; nor was there a single
province of Britain which did not regard his will, and prepare
to obey it, except Kent : for he had left the Kentish people
free from his incursions, because he had long meditated
a marriage with Ethelburga, sister of their king. When
she was granted to him, after a courtship long protracted, to
the intent that he should not despise that woman when pos-
sessed whom he so ardently desired when withheld, these
two kingdoms became so united by the ties of kindred, that,
there was no rivalry in their powers, no difference in their
manners. Moreover, on this occasion, the faith of Christ
our Lord, infused into those parts by the preaching of Pau-
linus, reached first the king himself, whom the queen, among
other proofs of conjugal affection, was perpetually instruc-
ting ; nor was the admonition of bishop PauHnus wanting in
its place. For a long time, he was wavering and doubtful ;
but once received, he imbibed it altogether. Then he invited
neighbouring kings to the faith; then he erected churches,
and neglected nothing for its propagation. In the mean-
while, the merciful grace of God smiled on the devotion of
the king; insomuch, that not only the nations of Britain,
that is to say, the Angles, Scots, and Picts, but even the
Orkney and Mevanian isles, which we now call Anglesey,
that is, islands of the Angles, both feared his arms, and
venerated his power. At that time, there was no public
robber; no domestic thief; the tempter of conjugal fidelity
was far distant ; the plunderer of another man's inheritance
was in exile : a state of things redounding to his praise, and
worthy of celebration in our times. <Jn short, such was the
increase of his power, that justice and peace willingly met
and kissed each other, imparting mutual acts of kindness?

46 ^VILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [fctcS.

And now indeed would the government of the Angles have
held a prosperous course, had not an untimely death, the
stepmother of all earthly felicity, by a lamentable turn of
fortune, snatched this man from his country. For in the
forty-eighth year of his age, and the seventeenth of his
reign, being killed, together with his son, by the princes
whom he had formerly subjugated, Cadwalla of the Britons
and Penda of the Mercians, rising up against him, he became
a melancholy example of human vicissitude. He was inferior
to none in prudence : for he would not embrace even the
Christian faith till he had examined it most carefully; but
when once adopted, he esteemed nothing worthy to be com-
pared to it.

Edwin thus slain, the sons of Ethelfrid, who were also
the nephews of Edwin, Oswald, and Oswy, now grown up,
and In the budding prime of youth, re- sought their country,
together with Eanfrid, their elder brother, whom I forgot
before to mention. The kingdom, therefore, was now divided
into two. Indeed, Northumbria, long since separated into
two provinces, had elected Alia, king of the Deirans, and
Ida, of the Bernicians. Wherefore Osric, the cousin of Ed-
win, succeeding to Deira, and Eanfrid, the son of Ethelfrid,
to Bernicia, they exulted in the recovery of their hereditary
right. They had both been baptized in Scotland, though
they were scarcely settled in their authority, ere they re-
nounced their faith : but shortly after they suffered the just
penalty of their apostacy through the hostility of Cadwalla.
The space of a year, passed in these transactions, improved
Oswald, a young man of great hope, in the science of govern-
ment. Armed rather by his faith, for he had been admitted
to baptism while in exile with many nobles among the Scots,
than by his military preparations, on the first onset he drove
Cadwalla,* a man elated with the recollection of his former
deeds, and, as he used himself to say, " born for the exter-
mination of the Angles," from his camp, and afterwards de-
stroyed him with all his forces. For when he had collected
Ihe little army which he was able to muster, he excited them
1o the conflict, in which, laying aside all thought of flight,
they must determine either to conquer or die, by suggesting,

Cadwalla, king of the Britons, having slain Eanfrid and Osric, a.d.
634, had usurped the government of Northumbria.

I

*.|>.5J5.] OSWALD. ^

"that it must be a circumstance highly disgraceful for the
Angles to meet the Britons on such unequal terms, as to
fight against those persons for safety, whom they had been
used voluntarily to attack for glory only ; that therefore they
should maintain their liberty with dauntless courage, and
the most strenuous exertions; but, that of the impulse to
flight no feeling whatever should be indulged." In conse-
quence they met with such fury on both sides, that, it may
be truly said, no day was ever more disastrous for the Bri-
tons, or more joyful for the Angles : so completely was one
party routed with all its forces, as never to have hope of
recovering again; so exceedingly powerful did the other
become, through the effects of faith and the accompanying
courage of the king. From this time, the worship of idols
fell prostrate in the dust; and he governed the kingdom,
extended beyond Edwin's boundaries, for eight years, peace-
ably and without the loss of any of his people. Bede, in his
History, sets forth the praises of this king in a high style of
panegyric, of which I shall extract such portions as may be
necessary, by way of conclusion. With what fervent faith
his breast was inspired, may easily be learned from this cir-
cumstance. If at any time Aidan the priest addressed his
auditors on the subject of their duty, in the Scottish tongue,
and no interpreter was present, the king himself would di-
rectly, though habited in the royal robe, glittering with gold,
or glowing with Tyrian purple, graciously assume that office,
and explain the foreign idiom in his native language. It is
well known too, that frequently at entertainments, when the
guests had whetted their appetites and bent their inclinations
on the feast, he would forego his own gratification ;* procur-
ing, by his abstinence, comfort for the poor. So that I think
the truth of that heavenly sentence was fulMed even on
earth, where the celestial oracle hath said,^He that dis-
persed abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness
remaineth for evehs^ And moreover, what the hearer must
wonder at, and caoaot deny, that identical royal right hand,

* When he was seated at table and just about to commence dinner, the
royal almoner informed the king that a great number of poor were assem-
bled in the street, asking relief; on which he immediately ordered the whole
of the provisions to be distributed, and the silver dish also to be cut into
pieces, and divided amongst them. See Bede, b. iii. c. 6.

WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [Ri.C.».

the dispenser of so many alms, remains to this day perfect,
with the arm, the skin and nerves, though the remainder of
the body, with the exception of the bones, mouldering into
dust, has not escaped the common lot of mortality. It is
true the corporeal remains of some of the saints are uncon-
scious altogether of deca^ Wherefore let others determine
by what standard they will fix their judgment ; I pronounce
this still more gracious and divine on account of its singular
manifestation ; because things ever so precious degenerate by
frequency, and whatever is more unusual, is celebrated more
generally. I should indeed be thought prolix were I to re-
late how diligent he was to address his prayers on high, and
to fill the heavens with vows. This virtue of Oswald is too
well known to require the support of our narrative. For at
what time would that man neglect his supplications, who, in
the insurrection excited by Penda king of the Mercians, his
guards being put to flight and himself actually carrying a
forest of darts in his breast, could not be prevented by the
pain of his wounds or the approach of death, from praying
for the souls of his faithful companions ? In such manner
this personage, of surpassing celebrity in this world, and
highly in favour with God, ending a valuable life, trans-
mitted his memory to posterity by a frequency of miracles ;
and indeed most deservedly. For it is not common, but
even more rare than a white crow, for men to abound in
riches, and not give indulgence to their vices.*

When he was slain, his arms with the hands and his head
were cut off by the insatiable rage of his conqueror, and
fixed on a stake. The dead trunk indeed, as I have men-
tioned, being laid to rest in the calm bosom of the earth,
turned to its native dust ; but the arms and hands, through
the power of God, remain, according to the testimony of an
author of veracity, without corruption. These being placed
by his brother Oswy in a shrine, at the city of Bebbanburg,f
so the Angles call it, and shown for a miracle, bear testimony
to the fact. Whether they remain at that place at the pre-
sent day, I venture not rashly to affirm, because I waver in
my opinion. If other historians have precipitately recorded
any matter, let them be accountable : I hold common report

• Juv. Sat. vii. 202.

t Bambrough in Northumberland. Betle iii. 6, p. 118,

A.D.e42.] OSWALD. 49

at a cheaper rate, and affirm nothing but what is deserving
of entire credit. The head was then buried by his before-
mentioned brother at Lindisfarne ; but it is said now to be
preserved at Durham in the arms of the blessed Cuthbert.*
When Ostritha, the wife of Ethelred, king of the Mercians,
daughter of king Oswy, through regard to her uncle, was
anxious to take the bones of the trunk to her monastery of
Bardney, which is in the country of the Mercians not far
from the city of Lincoln, the monks refused her request at
first ; denying repose even to the bones of that man wlien
dead whom they had hated whilst living, because he had ob-
tained their country by right of arms. But at midnight
being taught, by a miraculous light from heaven shining on
the relics, to abate their haughty pride, they became con-
verts to reason, and even entreated as a favour, what before
they had rejected. Virtues from on high became resident
in this place ; every sick person who implored this most
excellent martyr's assistance, immediately received it. The
withering turf grew greener from his blood, and recovered a
horse : f and some of it being hung up against a post, the
devouring flames fled from it in their turn. Some dust,
moistened from his relics, was equally efficacious in restoring
a lunatic to his proper senses. The washings of the stake
which had imbibed the blood fresh streaming from his head,
restored health to one despairing of recovery. For a long*
time this monastery, possessing so great a treasure, flourished
in the sanctity of its members and the abundance of its
friends, more especially after king Ethelred received the
tonsure there, where also his tomb is seen even to the pre-
sent day. After many years indeed, when the barbarians
infested these parts, the bones of the most holy Oswald were '
removed to Gloucester. This place, at that period inhabited
by monks, but at the present time by canons, contains but
few inmates. Oswald, therefore, was the man who yielded
the first fruits of holiness to liis nation ; since no Angle be-

* St. Cuthbert is represented as holding the head of Oswald in his arms.
Bede's bones were afterwards laid in the same coffin.

+ The horse lay down imder his rider in great agony ; but recovered by
rolling on the spot and cropping the grass. A person carried away some of
the earth, which he hung up against a post in the wall : the house caught
fire and was burnt with the exception of the timber to which the bag wa»
tied. See Bede, b. iii. c. 9, 10 ; and for the other stories, c. 13.

F

60 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. fa. i. c 8.

fore him, to my knowledge, was celebrated for miracles. For
after a life spent in sanctity, in liberally giving alms, in fre-
quent watcbings and prayer, and lastly, through zeal for the
church of God, in waging war with an heathen, he poured
out his spirit, according to his wishes, before he could behold,
what was his greatest object of apprehension, the decline of
Christianity. Nor indeed shall he be denied the praise of
the martyrs, who, first aspiring after a holy life, and next
opposing his body to a glorious death, certainly trod in their
steps : in a manner he deserves higher commendation, since
they barely consecrated themselves to God ; but Oswald not
only himself, but all the Northumbrians with him.

On his removal from this world, Oswy his brother
assumed the dominion over the Bernicians, as did Oswin,
the son of Osric, whom I have before mentioned, over
the Deirans. After meeting temperately at first on the
subject of the division of the provinces, under a doubtful
truce, they each retired peaceably to their territories ; but
not long after, by means of persons who delighted in sowing
the seeds of discord, the peace, of which they had so often
made a mockery by ambiguous treaties, was finally broken,
and vanished into air. Horrid crime ! that there should be
men who could envy these kings their friendly intimacy, nor
abstain from using their utmost efforts to precipitate them
into battle. Here then fortune, who had before so frequently
caressed Oswin with her blandishments, now wounded him
with her scorpion-sting. For thinking it prudent to abstain
from fighting, on account of the smallness of his force, he
had secretly withdrawn to a country-seat, where he was
immediately betrayed by his own people, and killed by Oswy.
He was a man admirably calculated to gain the favour of his
subjects by his pecuniary liberality ; and, as they relate,
demonstrated his care for his soul by his fervent devotion.
Oswy, thus sovereign of the entire kingdom, did every thing
to wipe out this foul stain, and to increase his dignity, ex-
tenuating the enormity of that atrocious deed by the recti-
tude of his future conduct. Indeed the first and highest
point of his glory is, that he nobly avenged his brother and
his uncle, and gave to perdition Penda king of the Mercians,
that destroyer of his neighbours, and fomenter of hostility.
From this period he either governed the Mercians, as well aa

A.0. 65^-670.] OSWY. EGFRID. 51

almost all the Angles, himself, or was supreme over those
who did. Turning from this time- altogether to offices of
piety, that he might be truly grateful for the favours of God
perpetually flowing down upon him, he proceeded to raise up
and animate, with all his power, the infancy of the Christian
faith, which of late was fainting through his brother's death.
This faith, brought shortly after to maturity by the learning
of the Scots, but wavering in many ecclesiastical observances,
was now settled on canonical foundations : * first by Agilbert
and Wilfrid, and next by archbishop Theodore : for whose
arrival in Britain, although Egbert, king of Kent, as far as
his province is concerned, takes much from his glory, the
chief thanks are due to Oswy. f Moreover he built numer-
ous habitations for the servants of God, and so left not his
country destitute of this advantage also. The principal of
these monasteries, at that time for females, but now for
males, was situate about thirty miles north of York, and was
anciently called Streaneshalch, but latterly Whitby. Begun
by Hilda, a woman of singular piety, it was augmented with
large revenues by Elfled, daughter of this king, who suc-
ceeded her in the government of it ; in which place also she
buried her father with all due solemnity, after he had reigned
twenty-eight years. This monastery, like all others of the
same order, was destroyed in the times of the Danish inva-
sion, which will be related hereafter, and bereaved of the
bodies of many saints. For the bones of St. Aidan the
bishop, of Ceolfrid the abbat, and of that truly holy virgin
Hilda, together with those of many others, were, as I have
related in the book which I lately published on the Antiquity
of the Church of Glastonbury, at that time removed to Glas-
tonbury ; and those of other saints to different places. Now
the monastery, under another name, and somewhat restored
as circumstances permitted, hardly presents a vestige of its
former opulence.

To Oswy, who had two sons, the elder who was illegiti-
mate being rejected, succeeded the younger, Egfrid, legiti-
mately born, more valued on account of the good qualities of
his most pious wife Etheldrida, than for his own ; yet he

• The principal points in dispute were, the time of celebrating Eastei
and the form of the tonsure. See Bede, Eccl. Hist. iii. 25.
t See Bede, Hist. Eccl. iii. 29.

e2 •

52 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURr. [b. i. c. S.

was certainly to be commended for two things which I have
read in the history of the Angles, his allowing his wife to
dedicate herself to God, and his promoting the blessed Cuth-
bert to a bishopric, whose tears at the same time burst out
with pious assent.* But my mind shudders at the bare re-
collection of his outrage against the holy Wilfrid, when,
loathing his virtues, he deprived the country of this shining
character. Overbearing towards the suppliant, a malady
incident to tyrants, he overwhelmed the Irish, a race of men
harmless in genuine simplicity and guiltless of every crime,
with incredible slaughter. On the other hand, inactive
towards the rebellious, and not following up the triumphs of
his father, he lost the dominion of the Mercians, and more-
over, defeated in battle by Ethelred the son of Penda, their
king, he lost his brother also. Perhaps these last circum-
stances may be truly attributed to the unsteadiness of
youth, but his conduct towards Wilfrid, to the instigation of
his wife,! and of the bishops ; more especially as Bede, a
man who knew not how to flatter, calls him, in his book of
the Lives of his Abbats, the most pious man, the most be-
loved by God. At length, in the fifteenth year of his reign,
as he was leading an expedition against the Picts, and
eagerly pursuing them as they purposely retired to some
secluded mountains, he perished with almost all his forces ;
the few who escaped by flight carried home news of the
event ; and yet the divine Cuthbert, from his knowledge of
future events, had both attempted to keep him back, when
departing, and at the very moment of his death, enlightened
by heavenly influence, declared, though at a distance, that
he was slain.

While a more than common report every where noised the
death of Egfrid, ^n intimation of it, " borne on the wings of
haste," reached the ears of his brother Alfrid. Though the
elder l)rother, he h^d been deemed, by the nobility, unwor-

* Bede's Life of St, Cuthbert, c. 24.

f Ennenburga, the second wife of Egfrid, The first, Etheldrida, was
divorced from him, on account of her love of celibacy, and became a nun.
Wilfrid, bishop of Hexham, was several times expelled his see. Elected
bishop of York, a.d. 664, he was expelled in 678. He was recalled to
Northumbria in 6B7, and again ejfpelled 692, He died a. d. 709, haring
been reinstated by the pope. See Bede v. 1 9. and Sax. Chron.

A.D. 685—730.] OSRED. CEOLWULF. 53

thy of the government, from his illegitimacy, as I have ob-
served, and had retired to Ireland, either through compulsion
or indignation. In this place, safe from the persecution of
his brother, he had, from his ample leisure, become deeply
versed in literature, and had enriched his mind with every
kind of learning. On which account the very persons wf%
had formerly banished him, esteeming him the better quali-
fied to manage the reins of government, now sent for him of
their own accord. Fate rendered efficacious their entreaties ;
neither did he disappoint their expectations. For during
the space of nineteen years, he presided over the kingdom in
the utmost tranquillity and joy ; doing nothing that even
greedy calumny itself could justly carp at, except the perse-
cution of that great man Wilfrid. However he held not the
same extent of territory as his father and brother, because
the Picts, proudly profiting by their recent victory, and
attacking the Angles, who were become indolent through a
lengthened peace, had curtailed his boundaries on the north.
He had for successor his son, Osred, a boy of eight years
old ; who disgracing the throne for eleven years, and
spending an ignominious life in the seduction of nuns, was
ultimately taken off by the hostility of his relations. Yet
he poured out to them a draught from the same cup ; for
Kenred after reigning two, and Osric eleven years, left only
this to be recorded of them ; that they expiated by a violent
death, the blood of their master, whom they supposed they
had rightfully slain. Osric indeed deserved a happier end,
for, as a heathen* says, he was more dignified than other
shades, because, while yet living he had adopted Ceolwulf,
Kenred's brother, as his successor. Then Ceolwulf ascended
the giddy height of empire, seventh in descent from Ida : a
man competent in other respects, and withal possessed of a
depth of literature, acquired by good abilities and indefati-
gable attention. Bede vouches for the truth of my assertion,
who, at the very juncture when Britain most abounded with
scholars, offered his History of the Angles, for correction, to
this prince more especially ; making choice of his authority,
to confirm by his high station what had been well written ;
and of his learning, to rectify by his talents what might be
carelessly expressed.

• Virg. iEn. vi. 816.

64 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. i. e. S.

In the fourth year of his reign, Bede, the historian, after
having written many books for the holy church, entered the
heavenly kingdom, for which he had so long languished, in
the year of our Lord's incarnation 734 ; of his age the
fifty-ninth. A man whom it is easier to admire than worthily
to extol : who, though born in a remote corner of the world,
was able to dazzle the whole earth with the brilliancy of his
learning. For even Britain, which by some is called another
world, since, surrounded by the ocean, it was not thoroughly
known by many geographers, possesses, in its remotest region,
bordering on Scotland, the place of his birth and education.
This region, formerly exhaling the grateful odour of
monasteries, or glittering with a multitude of cities built by
the Romans, now desolate through the ancient devastations
of the Danes, or those more recent of the Normans,* presents
but little to allure the mind. Here is the river Wear, of
considerable breadth and rapid tide ; which running into the
sea, receives the vessels, borne by gentle gales, on the calm
bosom of its haven. Both its banks f have been made
conspicuous by one Benedict, J who there built churches and
monasteries ; one dedicated to Peter, and the other to Paul,
united in the bond of brotherly love and of monastic rule.
The industry and forbearance of this man, any one will
admire who reads the book which Bede composed concerning
his life and those of the succeeding abbats : his industry, in
bringing over a multitude of books, and being the first person
who introduced in England constructors of stone edifices, as
well as makers of glass windows ; in which pursuits he spent
almost his whole life abroad : the love of his country and
his taste for elegance beguiling his painful labours, in the

• The country was laid waste by the Danes, a.d. 793, and continued to
be disturbed by them throughout the reigns of Alfred and Ethelred. The
great devastation was made by William the Conqueror a.d. 1069.

t This is not quite correct : Jarrow, one of Benedict's monasteries, is on
the river Tyne.

t Benedict sumamed Biscop, a noble Northumbrian, quitted the service
of king Oswy, when he had attained his twenty-fif tit year, and travelled to
Rome five several times ; occupying himself whil^ri^here, either in learning
the Roman ritual, or in collecting books, pictures, ahd ornaments of various
descriptions for the monasteries he had founded at Wearmouth : he also
brought over masons from France to build a church after the Roman
manner ; as well as artificers in glass. See Bede's Lives of the Abbats of
Wearmouth and Jarrow.

4.0.690.] i CEOLFRID. 55

earnest desire of conveying something to his countrymen oat
of the common way ; for very rarely before the time of
Benedict were buildings of stone * seen in Britain, nor did
the solar ray cast its light through the transparent glass.
Again, his forbearance : for when in possession of the
monastery of St. Augustine at Canterbury, he cheerfully
resigned it to Adrian, when he arrived, not as fearing the
severity of St. Theodore the archbishop, but bowing to his
authority. And farther, while long absent abroad, he
endured not only with temper, but, I may say, with
magnanimity, the substitution of another abbat, without his
knowledge, by the monks of Wearmouth ; and on his return,
admitted him to equal honour with himself, in rank and
power. Moreover, when stricken so severely with the palsy
that he could move none of his limbs, he appointed a third
abbat, because the other, of whom we have spoken, was
not less affected by the same disease. And when the
disorder, increasing, was just about to seize his vitals, he
bade adieu to his companion, who was brought into his
presence, with an inclination of the head only ; nor was he
better able to return the salutation, for he was hastening to
a stiU nearer exit, and actually died before Benedict.

Ceolfrid succeeded, under whom the affairs of the
monastery flourished beyond measure. When, through
extreme old age, life ceased to be desirable, he purposed
going to Rome, that he might pour out, as he hoped, his
aged soul an offering to the apostles his masters. But failing
of the object of his desires, he paid the debt of nature at the
city of Langres. The relics of his bones were in after time
conveyed to his monastery ; and at the period of the Danish
devastation, with those of St. Hilda, were taken to Glaston-
bury, "j" The merits of these abbats, sufficiently eminent in

* " . . . lapidei tabulatus," this seems intended to designate buildings
with covirses of stone in a regular manner, which is also implied by him,
De Gestis Pontif. lib. iii. f. 148. Bede, whom he here follows, affords no
assistance as to the precise meaning : he merely states, that Benedict caused
a church to be erected after the Roman model.

t The monks of Glastonbury used all possible means to obtain relics of
saints. See the curious account of a contention concerning the body of
St. Dunstan, which those monks asserted they had stolen from Canterbury,
after it had been burnt by the Danes, in the time of Ethelred, in Whartoni
Anglia Sacra, vol. ii, p. 222.

55 WILLIAM OF MALMESBTJRY. [JJ. I. «. 8

themselves, their celebrated pupil, Bede, crowns with
superior splendour. It is written indeed, " A wise son is the
glory of his father : " for one of them made him a monk, the
other educated him. And since Bede himself has given some
slight notices of these facts, comprising his whole life in a
kind of summary, it may be allowed to turn to his words,
which the reader will recognize, lest any variation of the
style should affect the relation. At the end then of the
Ecclesiastical History of the English * this man, as praise-
worthy in other respects as in this, that he withheld nothing
from posterity, though it might be only a trifling knowledge
of himself, says thus :

" I, Bede, the servant of Christ, and priest of the monas-
tery of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, which is at Wear-
mouth, have, by God's assistance, arranged these materials
for the history of Britain. I was born within the posses-
sions of this monastery, and at seven years of age, was com-
mitted, by the care of my relations, to the most reverend
abbat Benedict, to be educated, and, after, to Ceolfrid ; pass-
ing the remainder of my life from that period in residence
at the said monastery, I have given up my whole attention
to the study of the Scriptures, and amid the observance of
my regular discipline and my daily duty of singing in the
church, have ever delighted to learn, to teach, or to write.
In the nineteenth year of my life, I took deacon's, in the
thirtieth, priest's orders ; both, at the instance of abbat
Ceolfrid, by the ministry of the most reverend bishop John :f
from which time of receiving the priesthood till the fifty-
ninth year of my age, I have been employed for the benefit
of myself or of my friends, in making these extracts from
the works of the venerable fathers, or in making additions,
according to the form of their sense or interpretation." Then
enumerating thirty-six volumes which he published in
seventy-eight books, he proceeds, " And I pray most earnestly,
O merciful Jesus, that thou wouldst grant me, to whom thou
hast already given the knowledge of thyself, finally to come
to thee, the fountain of all wisdom, and to appear for ever
in thy presence. Moreover I humbly entreat all persons,

* Eccles. Hist., book v. ch. 24.

t John of Beverley, bishop of Hexham, a.d. 686. He was made bishop
of York, A.D. 705, and died 7th of May, 722. See Bede, b. v. c. 2—6,

AD. 701.] SERGIUS'S EPISTLE. St

"whether readers or hearers, whom this history of our nation
shall reach, that they be mindful to intercede with the divine
clemency for my infirmities both of mind and of body, and
that, in their several provinces, they make me this grateful
return ; that I, who have diligently laboured to record, of
every province, or of more exalted places, what appeared
worthy of preservation or agreeable to the inhabitants, may
receive, from all, the benefit of their pious intercessions."

Here my abilities fail, here my eloquence falls short :
ignorant which to praise most, the number of his writings,
or the gravity of his style. No doubt he had imbibed a
large portion of heavenly wisdom, to be able to compose so
many volumes within the limits of so short a life. Nay,
they even report, that he went to Rome for the purpose
either of personally asserting that his writings were con-
sistent with the doctrines of the church ; or of correcting
them by apostolical authority, should they be found repug-
nant thereto. That he went to Rome I do not however
afiirm for fact : but I have no doubt in declaring that he was
invited thither, as the following epistle will certify ; as well
as that the see of Rome so highly esteemed him as greatly to
desire his presence.

" Sergius the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to
Ceolfrid the holy abbat sendeth greeting : —

" With what words, and in what manner, can we declare
the kindness and unspeakable providence of our God, and
return fit thanks for his boundless benefits, who leads us,
when placed in darkness, and the shadow of death, to the
light of knowledge ?" And below, " Know, that we received
the favour of the offering which your devout piety hath sent
by the present bearer, with the same joy and goodwill with
which it was transmitted. We assent to the timely and be-
coming prayers of your laudable anxiety with deepest regard,
and entreat of your pious goodness, so acceptable to God,
that, since there have occurred certain points of ecclesiastical
discipline, not to be promulgated without farther examina-
tion, which have made it necessary for us to confer with a
person skilled in literature, as becomes an assistant of God's
holy universal mother-church, you would not delay, paying
ready obedience to this, our admonition ; but would send
without loss of time, to our lowly presence, at the church oi

58 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUEY. [»• !• c 3.

the chief apostles, my lords Peter and Paul, your friends and
protectors, that religious servant of God, Bede, the venerable
priest of your monastery ; whom, God willing, you may expect
to return in safety, when the necessary discussion of the above-
mentioned points shall be, by God's assistance, solemnly
completed : for whatever may be added to the church at
large, by his assistance, will, we trust, be profitable to the
things committed to your immediate care."

So extensive was his fame then, that even the majesty of
Rome itself solicited his assistance in solving abstruse ques-
tions, nor did Gallic conceit ever find in this Angle any
thing justly to blame. All the western world yielded the
palm to his faith and authority ; for indeed he was of sound
faith, and of artless, yet pleasing eloquence : in all elucida-
tions of the holy scriptures, discussing those points from
which the reader might imbibe the love of God, and of his
neighbour, rather than those which might charm by their
wit, or polish a rugged style. Moreover the irrefragable
truth of that sentence, which the majesty of divine wisdom
proclaimed to the world forbids any one to doubt the sanctity
of his life, " Wisdom will not enter the malevolent soul, nor
dwell in the person of the sinful ;" which indeed is said not
of earthly wisdom, which is infused promiscuously into the
hearts of men, and in which, even the wicked, who continue
their crimes until their last day, seem often to excel, accord-
ing to the divine expression, " The sons of this world are in
their generation wiser than the children of light j" but it
rather describes that wisdom which needs not the assistance
of learning,' and which dismisses from its cogitations those
things which are void of understanding, that is to say, of the
understanding of acting and speaking properly. Hence
Seneca in his book, " De Causis,"* appositely relates that
Cato, defining the duty of an orator, said, " An orator is a
good man, skilled in speaking." This ecclesiastical orator,
then, used to purify his knowledge, that so he might, as far as
possible, unveil the meaning of mystic writings. How indeed
could that man be enslaved to vice who gave his whole soul
and spirit to elucidate the scriptures ? For, as he confesses
in his third book on Samuel, if his expositions were produc-
tive of no advantage to his readers, yet were they of con-

• Seneca, Controvers. lib. 1.

A.D. 735.] DEATH OF BEDE. 59

siderable importance to himself, inasmuch as, while fully in-
tent upon them, he escaped the vanity and empty imagina-
tions of the times. Purified from vice, therefore, he entered
within the inner veil, divulging in pure diction the senti-
ments of his mind.

But the unspotted sanctity and holy purity of his heart
were chiefly conspicuous on the approach of death. Although
for seven weeks successively, from the indisposition of his
stomach, he nauseated all food, and was troubled with such a
difficulty of breathing that his disorder confined him to his
bed, yet he by no means abandoned his literary avocations.
During whole days he endeavoured to mitigate the pressure
of his disorder and to lose the recollection of it by constant
lectures to his pupils, and by examining and solving abstruse
questions, in addition to liis usual task of psalmody. More-
over the gospel of St. John, which from its difficulty exer-
cises the talents of its readers even to the present day, was
translated by him into the English language, and accommo-
dated to those who did not understand Latin. Occasionally,
also, would he admonish his disciples, saying, " Learn, my
children, while I am with you, for I know not how long I
shall continue ; and although my Maker should very shortly
take me hence, and my spirit should return to him that sent
and granted it to come into this life, yet have I lived long,
God hath rightly appointed my portion of days, I desire to
be dissolved and to be with Christ."

Often too when the balance was poised between hope and
fear, he would remark " It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.* I have not passed my life among
you in such manner as to be ashamed to live, neither do I
fear to die, because we have a kind Master ;" thus borrowing
the expression of St. Ambrose when dying. Happy man !
who could speak with so quiet a conscience as neither being
ashamed to live, nor afraid to die ; on the one hand not fear-
ing the judgment of men, on the other waiting with com-
posure the hidden will of God. Often, when urged by ex-
tremity of pain, he comforted himself with these remarks,
" The furnace tries the gold, and the fire of temptation the
just man : the sufferings of this present time are not worthy

• Hebrews x. 31,

60" WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. i. c. 3.

to be compared to the future glory whicli shall be revealed in
us."* Tears and a difficulty of breathing accompanied his
words. At night, when there were none to be instructed or
to note down his remarks, he passed the whole season in
giving thanks and singing psalms, fulfilling the saying of
that very wise man,t " that he was never less alone than when
alone." If at anytime a short and disturbed sleep stole upon
his eye-lids, he immediately shook it off, and showed that his
affections were always intent on God, by exclaiming " Lift
me up, 0 Lord, that the proud calumniate me not. Do with
thy servant according to thy mercy." These and similar ex-
pressions which his shattered memory suggested, flowed
spontaneously from his lips whenever the pain of his agoniz-
ing disorder became mitigated. But on the Tuesday before
our Lord's ascension his disease rapidly increased, and there
appeared a small swelling in his feet, the sure and certain
indication of approaching death. Then the congregation
being called together, he was anointed and received the sacra-
ment. Kissing them all, and requesting from each that they
would bear him in remembrance, he gave a small present,
which he had privately reserved, to some with whom he had
been in closer bonds of friendship. On Ascension day, when
his soul, tired of the frail occupation of the body, panted to
be free, lying down on a hair-cloth near the oratory, where
he used to pray, with sense unimpaired and joyful counte-
nance, he invited the grace of the Holy Spirit, saying, " O
King of glory, Lord of virtue, who ascendedst this day trium-
phant into the heavens, leave us not destitute, but send upon
us the promise of the Father, the Spirit of truth." This
prayer ended, he breathed his last, and immediately the senses
of all were pervaded by an odour such as neither cinnamon
nor balm could give, but coming, as it were, from paradise,
and fraught with all the joyous exhalations of spring. At
that time he was buried in the same monastery, but at pre-
sent, report asserts that he lies at Durham with St. Cuthbert.
With this man was buried almost all knowledge of history
down to our times, inasmuch as there has been no English-

* Romans viii. 18.

t Scipio Africanus was accustomed to observe, " that he was never less
idle than when unoccupied, nor never less alone than when by himael£.''
Cicero de Offic. 1. 3.

A.D. 737, 738.] KING EADBERT. 61

man either emulous of his pursuits, or a follower of his
graces, who could continue the thread of his discourse, now
broken short. Some few indeed, "whom the mild Jesus
loved," though well skilled in literature, have yet observed an
ungracious silence throughout their lives ; others, scarcely
tasting of the stream, have fostered a criminal indolence.
Thus to the slothful succeeded others more slothful still,
and the warmth of science for a long time decreased throughout
the island. The verses of his epitaph will afford sufficient
specimen of this indolence ; they are indeed contemptible,
and unworthy the tomb of so great a man :

" Presbyter hie Beda, requiescit came sepultus ;
Dona, Christe, animam in ccelis gaudere per aevum :
Daque illi sophiae debriari fonte, ciii jam
Suspiravit ovans, intento semper amore."*

Can this disgrace be extenuated by any excuse, that there
was not to be found even in that monastery, where during
his lifetime the school of all learning had flourished, a single
person who could write his epitaph, except in this mean and
paltry style ? But enough of this : I will return to my
subject.

Ceolwulf thinking it beneath the dignity of a Christian to
be immersed in earthly things, abdicated the throne after a
reign of eight years, and assumed the monastic habit at Lin-
disfarne, in which place how meritoriously he lived, is amply
testified by his being honourably interred near St. Cuthbert,
and by many miracles vouchsafed from on high.

He had made provision against the state's being endan-
gered, by placing his cousin, Eadbert,f on the throne, which
he filled for twenty years with singular moderation and
virtue. Eadbert had a brother of the same name, archbishop
of York, who, by his own prudence and the power of the
king, restored that see to its original state. For, as is well
known to any one conversant in the history of the Angles, if
* These lines are thus rendered into English :

" Beneath this stone Bede's mortal body lies ;
God grant his soul may rest amid the skies.
May he drink deeply, in the realms above,
Of wisdom's fount, which he on earth did love !"
+ Called Egbert by some writers. J Paulinus had departed from

Northumbria, in consequence of the confusion which prevailed on the death
of Edwin. Bede, b. ii. c. 20. He died Oct. 10, 644

62 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. fs. i. c J.

Paulinus, the first prelate of the church of York, had been
forcibly driven away, and died at Rochester, where he lefD
that honourable distinction of the pall which he had received
from pope Honorius. After him, many prelates of this
august city, satisfied with the name of a simple bishopric,
aspired to nothing higher : but when Eadbert was seated on
the throne, a man of loftier spirit, and one who thought,
that, " as it is over-reaching to require what is not our due,
so is it ignoble to neglect our right," he reclaimed the pall
by frequent appeals to the pope. This personage, if I may
be allowed the expression, was the depository and receptacle
of every liberal art ; and founded a most noble library at
York. For this I cite Alcuin, * as competent witness ; who
was sent from the kings of England to the emperor Charles
the Great, to treat of peace, and being hospitably entertained
by him, observes, in a letter to Eanbald, third in succession
from Eadbert, " Praise and glory be to God, who hath pre-
served my days in full prosperity, that I should rejoice in
the exaltation of my dearest son, who laboured in my stead,
in the church where I had been brought up and educated,
and presided over the treasures of wisdom, to which my
beloved master, archbishop Egbert, left me heir." Thus too
to Charles Augustus : f " Give me the more polished vo-
lumes of scholastic learning, such as I used to have in my
own country, through the laudable and ardent industry of
my master, archbishop Egbert. And, if it please your wis-
dom, I will send some of our youths, who may obtain thence
whatever is necessary, and bring back into France the flow-
ers of Britain ; that the garden of Paradise may not be con-
fined to York, but that some of its scions may be transplanted
to Tours."

This is the same Alcuin, who, as I have said, was sent
into France to treat of peace, and during his abode -with
Charles, captivated either by the pleasantness of the country
or the kindness of the king, settled there ; and being held in
high estimation, he taught the king, during his leisure from

• Alcuin, a native of Northumbria, and educated at York, through hia
learning and talents became the intimate friend and favourite of Charle-
magne, for whom he transcribed, with his o^vn hand, the Holy Scriptures
This relic is now preserved in the British Museum.

f See this opistle at length in Alcuini Op. vol. i. p. 52. Epist. 38.

4.1x738.] KINGS OP FRANCE. 63

the cares of state, a thorough knowledge of logic, rhetoric,
and astronomy. Alcuin was, of all the Angles, of whom I
have read, next to St. Aldhelm and Bede, certainly the most
learned, and has given proof of his talents in a variety of
compositions. He lies buried in France, at the church of
St. Paul, of Cormaric, * which monastery Charles the Great
built at his suggestion : on which account, even at the pre-
sent day, the subsistence of four monks is distributed in
alms, for the soul of our Alcuin, in that church.

But since I am arrived at that point where the mention of
Charles the Great naturally presents itself, I shall subjoin a
true statement of the descent of the kings of France, of
which antiquity has said much : nor shall I depart widely
from my design ; because to be unacquainted with their
race, I hold as a defect in information ; seeing that they are
our near neighbours, and to them the Christian world chiefly
looks up : and, perhaps, to glance over this compendium may
give pleasure to many who have not leisure to wade through
voluminous worksy

The Franks were so called, by a Greek appellative, from
the ferocity of their manners, when, by order of the emperor
Valentinian the First, they ejected the Alani, who had
retreated to the Maeotian marshes. It is scarcely possible to
believe how much this people, few and mean at first, became
increased by a ten years' exemption from taxes : such, before
the war, being the condition on which they engaged in it.
Thus augmenting wonderfully by the acquisition of freedom,
and first seizing the greatest part of Germany, and next the
whole of Gaul, they compelled the inhabitants to list under
their banners. Hence the Lotharingi and Allamanni, and
other nations beyond the Rhine, who are subject to the
emperor of Germany, will have themselves more properly to
be called Franks ; and those whom we suppose Franks, they
call by an ancient appellative Galwal?e, that is to say, Gauls.
To this opinion I assent ; knowing that Charles the Great,
whom none can deny to have been king of the Franks,
always used the same vernacular language with the Franks
on the other side of the Rhine. Any one who shall read the

* Others say he was buried at St. Martin's, at Tours, where he died,
April 18, 804. His works will be included in Patres EccLESiiE Akqu-

64 WILLLA3I OF MALMESBUBT. [B-rcS.

life of CharleS^ will readily admit the truth of my assertion.*
In the year then of the Incarnate Word 425 the Franks
were governed by Faramund, their first king. The grand-
son of Faramund was Meroveus, from whom all the suc-
ceeding kings of the Franks, to the time of Pepin, were
called Merovingians. In like manner the sons of the kings
of the Angles took patronymical appellations from their
fathers. For instance ; Eadgaring the son of Edgar ; Ead-
munding the son of Edmund, and the rest in like manner ;
commonly, however, they are called ethelings. The native
language of the Franks, therefore, partakes of that of the
Angles, by reason of both nations originating from Germany.
The Merovingians reigned successfully and powerfully till
the year of our Lord's incarnation, 687. At that period
Pepin, son of Ansegise, was made mayor of the palace "f
among the Franks, on the other side of the Rhine. Seizing
opportunities for veiling his ambitious views, he completely
subjugated his master Theodoric, the dregs as it were of the
Merovingians, and to lessen the obloquy excited by the
transaction, he indulged him with the empty title of king,
while himself managed every thing, at home and abroad,
according to his own pleasure. The genealogy of this Pepin,
both to and from him, is thus traced : Ausbert, the senator,
on Blithilde, the daughter of Lothaire, the father of Dago-
bert, begot Arnold : Arnold begot St. Arnulph, bishop of
Metz : Arnulph begot Flodulph, Walcthise, AjQschise : Flo-
dulph begot duke Martin, whom Ebroin slew : Walcthise
begot the most holy Wandregesil the abbat : duke Anschise
begot Ansegise : Ansegise begot Pepin. The son of Pepin
was Carolus Tudites, whom they also call Martel, because he
beat down the tyrants who were raising up in every part of
France, and nobly defeated the Saracens, at that time infest-
ing Gaul. Following the practice of his father, whilst he
was himself satisfied with the title of earl, he kept the kings

* The Life of Charlemagne, by Eginhard, who was secretary to that
monarch. Du Chesne Script. Franc, tom. ii. It is one of the most amus-
ing books of the period.

t The mayors of the palace seem originally to have merely regulated
the king's household, but by degrees they acquired so much power, that
Pepin the elder, maternal grandfather of him here mentioned, had already
become in effect, king of France. They first appear to have usurped
the regal power under Clovis II. a. d. 638.

4.T). 747—937.1 CAROLOMAN — CHARLEMAGNE — ^LOUIS. 65

:ji a state of pupilage. He left two sons, Pepin and Gaiolo
man. Caroloman, from some unknown cause, relinquishing
the world, took his religious vows at Mount Cassin. Pepin
was crowned king of the Franks, and patrician of the Ro-
mans, in the church of St. Denys, by pope Stephen, the suc-
cessor of Zachary. For the Constantinopolitan emperors,
already much degenerated from their ancient valour, giving
no assistance either to Italy or the church of Rome, which
had long groaned under the tyranny of the Lombards, this
pope bewailed the injuries to which they were exposed from
them to the ruler of the Franks ; wherefore Pepin passing
the Alps, reduced Desiderius, king of the Lombards, to such
difficulties, that he restored what he had plundered to the
church of Rome, and gave surety by oath that he would not
attempt to resume it. Pepin returning to France after some
years, died, leaving his surviving children, Charles and
Caroloman, Ids heirs. In two years Caroloman departed
this life. Charles obtaining the name of " Great" from his
exploits, enlarged the kingdom to twice the limits which it
possessed in his father's time, and being contented for more
than thirty years with the simple title of king, abstained
from the appellation of emperor, though repeatedly invited
to assume it by "pope Adrian. But when, after the death of
this pontiff, his relations maimed the holy Leo, his successors
in the church of St. Peter, so as to cut out his tongue, and
put out his eyes, Charles hastily proceeded to Rome to settle
the state of the church. Justly punishing these abandoned
wretches, he stayed there the whole winter, and restored the
pontiff, now speaking plainly and seeing clearly, by the
miraculous interposition of God, to his customary power.
At that time the Roman people, with the privity of the pon-
tiff, on the day of our Lord's nativity, unexpectedly hailed
him with the title of Augustus ; which title, though, from
its being unusual, he reluctantly admitted, yet afterwards he
defended with proper spirit against the Constantinopolitan
emperors, and left it, as hereditary, to his son Louis. His
descendants reigned in that country, which is now properly
called France, till the time of Hugh, surnamed Capet, from
whom is descended the present Louis. From the same stock
came the sovereigns of Germany and Italy, till the year of
our Lord 912, when Conrad, king of the Teutonians, seized

r

66 WILLIA5I OF MALMESBUKY. [".i. c.3.

that empire. The grandson of this personage was Otho the
Great, equal in every estimable quality to any of the em-
perors who preceded him. Thus admirable for his valour
and goodness, he left the empire hereditary to his posterity ;
for the present Henry, son-in-law of Henry, king of Eng-
land, derives his lineage from his blood.

To return to my narrative: Alcuin, though promoted by
Charles the Great to the monastery of St. Martin in France,
was not unmindful of his countrymen, but exerted himself
to retain the emperor in amity with them, and stimulated
them to virtue by frequent epistles. I shall here subjoin
many of his observations, from which it will appear clearl;^
how soon after the death of Bede the love of learning de-
clined even in his own monastery: and how quickly after
the decease of Eadbert the kingdom of the Northumbrians
came to ruin, through the prevalence of degenerate manners.

He says thus to the monks of Wearmouth, among whom
Bede had both lived and died, obliquely accusing them of
having done the very thing which he begs them not to do,
" Let the youths be accustomed to attend the praises of our
heavenly King, not to dig up the burrows of foxes, or pursue
the winding mazes of hares ; let them now learn the Holy
Scriptures, that, when grown up, they may be able to in-
struct others. Remember the most noble teacher of our
times, Bede, the priest, what thirst for learning he had in
his youth, what praise he now has among men, and what a
far greater reward of glory with God." Again, to those of
York he says, " The Searcher of my heart is witness that it
was not for lust of gold that I came to France or continued
there, but for the necessities of the church." And thus to
Offa, king of the Mercians, " I was prepared to come to you
with the presents of king Charles and to return to my coun-
try, but it seemed more advisable to me, for tl.e peace of my
nation, to remain abroad, not knowing what I could have
done among those persons, with whom no one can be secure,
or able to proceed in any laudable pursuit. Behold every
holy place is laid desolate by Pagans, the altars are polluted
by perjury, the monasteries dishonoured by adultery, the
earth itself stained with the blood of rulers and of princes."
Again, to king Ethelred. third in tlie sovereignty after Eud-
bert, " Behold the church of St. Cuthbert is sprinkled with

A.U 758.] OSWULPH. b'i

the blood of God's priests, despoiled of all its ornaments,
and the holiest spot in Britain given up to Pagan nations to
be plundered ; and where, after the departure of St. Paulinus
from York, the Christian religion first took its rise in our
own nation, there misery and calamity took their rise also.
What portends that shower of blood which in the time ot
Lent, in the city of York, the capital of the whole kingdom,
in the church of St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, we saw
tremendously falling on the northern side of the building
from the summit of the roof, though the weather was fair ?
Must not blood be expected to come upon the land from the
northern regions?" Again, to Osbert, prince of the Mer-
cians, "Our kingdom of the Northumbrians has almost
perished through internal dissensions and perjury." So also
to Athelard, archbishop of Canterbury, "I speak this on
account of the scourge which has lately fallen on that part
of our island which has bean inhabited by our forefathers
for nearly three hundred and forty years. It is recorded in
the writings of Gildas, the wisest of the Britons, that those
very Britons ruined their country through the avarice and
rapine of their princes, the iniquity and injustice of their
judges, their bishops' neglect of preaching, the luxury and
abandoned manners of the people. Let us be cautious that
such vices become not prevalent in our times, in order that
the divine favour may preserve our country to us in that
happy prosperity for the future which it has hitherto in its
most merciful kindness vouchsafed us."

It has been made evident, I think, what disgrace and what
destruction the neglect of learning and the immoral manners
of degenerate men brought upon England ! These remarks
obtain this place in my history merely for the purpose of
cautioning my readers.

Eadbert, then, rivalling his brother in piety, assumed the
monastic habit, and gave place to Oswulph, his son, who
being, without any cause on his part, slain by his subjects,
was, after a twelvemonth's reign, succeeded by Moll. Moll
carried on the government with commendable diligence for
eleven years,* and then fell a victim to the treachery of

• Malmesbury differs from all the best authorities, who assign only six
years to his reign. He ascended the throne a.d. 759, and was expellijd
A..D. 765.

V 2

68 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b.i.c.3.

Alcred. Alcred in liis tenth year was compelled by his
countrymen to retire from the government which he had
usurped. Ethelred too, the son of Moll, being elected king,
was expelled by them at the end of five years. Alfwold
was next hailed sovereign ; but he also, at the end of eleven
years, experienced the perfidy of the inhabitants, for he was
cut ofl* by assassination, though guiltless, as his distinguished
interment at Hexham and divine miracles sufficiently declare.
His nephew, Osred,* the son of Alcred, succeeding him, was
expelled after the space of a year, and gave place to Ethel-
red, who was also called Ethelbert. He was the son of
Moll, also called Ethelwald, and, obtaining the kingdom
after twelve years of exile, held it during four, at the end
of which time, unable to escape the fate of his predecessors,
he was cruelly murdered. At this, many of the bishops and
nobles greatly shocked, fled from the country. Some indeed
affirm that he was punished deservedly, because he had as-
sented to the unjust murder of Osred, whereas he had it in
his power to quit the sovereignty and restore him to his
throne. Of the beginning of this reign Alcuin thus speaks :
"Blessed be God, the only worker of miracles, Ethelred,
the son of Ethelwald, went lately from the dungeon to the
throne, from misery to grandeur; by the infancy of whose
reign we are detained from coming to you."f Of his death
he writes J thus to Offa king of the Mercians: "Your es-
teemed kindness is to understand that my lord, king Charles,
often speaks to me of you with affection and sincerity, and
in him you have the firmest friend. He therefore sends
becoming presents to your love, and to the several sees of
your kingdom. In like manner he had appointed presents
for king Ethebed, and for the sees of his bishops, but, oh,
dreadful to think, at the very moment of despatching these
gifts and letters there came a sorrowful account, by the

• Osred, through a conspiracy of his noblps, had been deposed, and,
after receiving the tonsure, was compelled to go into exile. Two years
after, induced by the promises and oaths of certain of the Northumbrian
chiefs, he returned, but being deserted by his forces, he was made prisoner
and put to death by the order of Ethelred. Sim. Dunelm. a.d. 790 — 2.
Osred was expelled from his kingdom, a.d. 790, and Ethelred was restored
atter an exile of twelve years. — Hardy.

t This letter is not yet published in Alcuini Opera.

X Epist. xlii. Op. tom. i. p. 5 J.

A.P. 796 -827.] KING EGBERT. 69

ambassadors who returned out of Scotland through your
country, of the faithlessness of the people, and the death
of the king. So that Charles, withholding his liberal gift?-,
is so highly incensed against that nation as to call it per-
fidious and perverse, and the murderer of its sovereigns,
esteeming it worse than pagan; and had I not interceded
he would have already deprived them of every advantage
within his reach, and have done them all the injury in his
power."

After Ethelred no one durst ascend the throne;* each
dreading the fate of his predecessor, and preferring a life
of safety in inglorious ease, to a tottering reign in anxious
suspense: for most of the Northumbrian kings had ended
their reigns by a death which was now become almost
habitual. Thus being without a sovereign for thirty-three
years, that province became an object of plunder and con-
tempt to its neighbours. For when the Danes, who, as I
have before related from the words of Alcuin, laid waste
the holy places, on their return home represented to their
countrymen the fruitfulness of the island, and the indolence
of its inhabitants; these barbarians came over hastily, in
great numbers, and obtained forcible possession of that part
of the country, till the time we are speaking of : indeed they
had a king of their own for many years, though he was sub-
ordinate to the authority of the king of the West Saxons.
However, after the lapse of these thirty-three years, king
Egbert obtained the sovereignty of this province, as well as
of the others, in the year of our Lord's incarnation 827, and
the twenty-eighth of his reign. And since we have reached
his times, mindful of our engagement, we shall speak briefly
of the kingdom of the Mercians ; and this, as well because
we admire brevity in relation, as that there is no great
abundance of materials.

* This is not quite correct : Osbald was elected by a party to succeed
him; but after a very short period he was deposed, and the government
devolved on Eardulf. Eardulf after a few years was driven into exile;
went to Rome, and, it would seem, was restored to his kingdom, by the
influence of Charlemagne, a.d. 808. V. Sim. Dunelm. col, 117, and
Eginhardi Annales, Duchesne, 2, 255.

70 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [b. i c. 4.

CHAPTER IV.

Of the h'mgs of the Mercians, [a.d. 626 — 874.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 626, and the hundred
and thirty-ninth after the death of Hengist, Penda the son
of Pybba, tenth in descent of Woden, of noble lineage, ex-
pert in war, but at the same time an irreligious heathen, at
the age of fifty assumed the title* of king of the Mercians,
after he had already fostered his presumption by frequent
incursions on his neighbours. Seizing the sovereignty,
therefore, with a mind loathing quiet and unconscious how
great an enormity it was even to be victorious in a contest
against his own countrymen, he began to attack the neigh-
bouring cities, to invade the confines of the surrounding
kings, and to fill everything with terror and confusion. For
what would not that man attempt, who, by his lawless dar-
ing, had extinguished those luminaries of Britain, Edwin
and Oswald, kings of the Northumbrians, Sigebert, Ecgric,
and Anna, kings of the East Angles ; men, in whom nobility
of race was equalled by sanctity of life ? Kenwalk also,
king of the West Saxons, after being frequently harassed
by him, was driven into exile; though, perhaps, he deser-
vedly paid the penalty of his perfidy towards God, in deny-
ing his faith ; and towards Penda himself, in repudiating his
sister. It is irksome to relate, how eagerly he watched op-
portunities of slaughter, and as a raven flies greedily at the
scent of a carcase, so he joined Cadwalla,f and was of in-
finite service to him, in recovering his dominions. In this
manner, for thirty years, he attacked his countrymen, but
did nothing worthy of record against strangers. His insa-
tiable desires, however, at last found an end suitable to their
deserts ; for being routed, with his allies, by Oswy, who had
succeeded his brother Oswald, more through the assistance

• It would appear that Penda was not the first king, but the first of
any note. Hen. Huntingdon assigns the origin of the kingdom to about
the year 584 under Crida, who was succeeded, in the year 600, by Pybba;
Ceorl came to the throne in 610, and Penda in 626. See H. Hunt,
f. 181, 184— b.

f King of the Britons, see Bede, b. ii. ch. 20. It was by his assistance
that Cad walla defeated Edwin, king of Northumbrian at Hatfield, Oct. 12,
A.D. 633.

Al>.«55-661.] PEA1>A WULFHEEE. 71

of God than his military powers, Penda increased the num -
ber of infernal spirits. By his queen Kyneswith his sons
were Peada, Wulfhere, Ethelred, Merwal, and Mercelin:
his daughters, Kyneburg, and Kyneswith ; both distinguished
for inviolable chastity. Thus the parent, though ever re-
bellious towards God, produced a most holy offspring for
Heaven.

His son Peada succeeded him in a portion of the kingdom,
by the permission of Oswy, advanced to the government of
the South Mercians ; a young man of talents, and even in
his father's lifetime son-in-law to Oswy. For he had re-
ceived his daughter, on condition of renouncing paganism
and embracing Christianity; in which faith he would sood
have caused the province of participate, the peaceful state
of the kingdom and his father-in-law's consent tending to
such a purpose, had not his death, hastened, as they say, by
the intrigues of his wife, intercepted these joyful prospects.
Then Oswy resumed the government, which seemed rightly
to appertain to him from his victory over the father, and
from his affinity to the son. The spirit, however, of tne
inhabitants could not brook his authority more than three
years; for they expelled his generals, and Wulfhere, the
son of Penda, being hailed as his successor, the province
recovered its liberty.

Wulfhere, that he might not disappoint the hopes of the
nation, began to act with energy, to show himself an efficient
prince by great exertions both mental and personal, and
finally to afford Christianity, introduced by his brother and
yet hardly breathing in his kingdom, every possible assist-
ance. In the early years of his reign he was heavily op-
pressed by the king of the West Saxons, but in succeeding
times, repelling the injury by the energy of his measures, he
deprived him of the sovereignty of the Isle of Wight ; and
leading it, yet panting after heathen rites, into the proper
path, he soon after bestowed it on his godson, Ethelwalch,
king of th«- South Saxons, as a recompence for his faith.
But these and all his other good qualities are stained and
deteriorated by the dreadful brand of simony; because he.,
first of the kings of the Angles, sold the sacred bishopric
of London to one Wini, an ambitious man. His wife was
Erittsnhilda, the daughter of Erconbert, king* of Kent, of

t2

WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, [b.i.c.4

whom he begat Kinred, and Wereburga, a most holy virgin
who lies buried at Chester. His brother Merewald married
Ermenburga, the daughter of Ermenred, brother of the same
Erconbert ; by her he had issue, three daughters ; Milburga,
who lies at Weneloch ; Mildritha in Kent, in the monastery
of St. Augustine ; and Milgitha : and one son, Merefin. Al-
frid king of the Northumbrians married Kyneburg, daughter
of Penda : who, after a time, disgusted with wedlock, took
the habit of a nun in the monastery which her brothers,
Wulfhere and Ethelred, had founded.

Wulf here died at the end of nineteen years, and his bro-
ther Ethelred ascended the throne ; more famed for his pious
disposition than his skill in war. Moreover he was satisfied
with displaying his valour in a single but illustrious expe-
dition into Kent, and passed the remainder of his life in
quiet, except that attacking Egfrid, king of the Northum-
brians, who had passed beyond the limits of his kingdom,
he admonished him to return home, by the murder of his
brother Elfwin. He atoned however for this slaughter,
after due deliberation, at the instance of St. Theodore, the
archbishop, by giving Egfrid a large sum of money.* Sub-
sequently to this, in the thirtieth year of his reign, he took
the cowl, and became a monk at Bardney, of which monas-
tery he was ultimately promoted to be abbat. This is the
same person who was contemporary with Ina, king of the
West Saxons, and confirmed by his authority also the privi-
lege which St. Aldhelm brought from Rome. His wife was
Ostritha, sister of Egfrid, king of the Northumbrians, by
whom she had issue a son named Ceolred.

He appointed Kenred, the son of his brother Wulfhere his
successor, who, equally celebrated for piety to God and
uprightness towards his subjects, ran his mortal race with
great purity of manners, and proceeding to Rome in the
fifth year of his reign, passed the remainder of his life there
in the offices of religion ; chiefly instigated to this by the
melancholy departure of a soldier, who, as Bede relates, f

• This was by paying to his relatives his weregild, or the legal price of
his blood; for all, from the king to the slave, had their established value.
One moiety, only, of the weregild went to the family of the murdered
person; the other went into the public purse.

* Ethelbald had been frequently exhorted by the king to make con-
fession of his transgressions, but had constantly declined it. At last being

4. D. 700-756.] Boniface's epistle. 73f

disdaining to confess his crimes when in health, saw,
manifestly, when at the point of death, those very derions
coming to punish him to whose vicious allurements he had
surrendered his soul.

After him reigned Ceolred, the son of Ethelred his uncle,
as conspicuous for his valour against Ina, as pitiable for an
early death ; for not filling the throne more than eight years,
he was buried at Lichfield, leaving Ethelbald, the grand-
nephew of Penda by his brother Alwy, his heir. This king,
enjoying the sovereignty in profound and long-continued
peace, that is, for the space of forty-one years, was ultimately
killed by his subjects, and thus met with a reverse of fortune.
Bernred, the author of his death, left nothing worthy of
record, except that afterwards, being himself put to death by
Offa, he received the just reward of his treachery. To this
Ethelbald, Boniface,* archbishop of Mentz, an Angle by
nation, who was subsequently crowned with martyrdom, sent
an epistle, part of which I shall transcribe, that it may
appear how freely he asserts those very vices to have already
gained ground among the^Angles of which Alcuin in after
times was apprehensive, ^t will also be a strong proof, by
the remarkable deaths oitertain kings, how severely God
punishes those guilty nersons for whom his long-suspended
anger mercifully waits^

■j" " To Ethelhald^^y dearest lord^ and to be preferred to
all other kings of the Angles, in the love of Christ, Boniface
the archbishop, legate to Germany from the church of Rome,

seized with sickness, he appears to have imagined that he saw two angels
approach with a very small volume, in which were written the few good
actions he had ever performed ; when immediately a large company of
demons advancing, display another book of enormous bulk and weight,
contedning all his evil deeds, which are read to him ; after which, asserting
their claim to the sinner against the angels, they strike him on the head and
feet, as symptoms of his approaching end. Bede, b. v. c. 13.

* Boniface, whose original name was Winfred, after unwearied labour in
the conversion of various nations in Germany, by which he acquired the
honourable appellation of Apostle of the Germans, at length suffered
martyrdom in Friesland. A collected edition of his works forms vohimes
XV. and xvi. of Patres Ecclesi^ Anglicans by the editor of this work.
One of the original churches, built by him in Saxony, still exists in the
Duchy of Gotha, at a little village called Gicrstedt.

t See this epistle at length in Spelmanni Concilia, vol. i. page 232, and
rcprmted by Wilkins, Concilia, i. 87, also in Bonifacii Opera, &c.

74 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY.

[•.I.C.4 1

wishetk perpetual health in Christ. We confess before God
that when we hear of your prosperity, your faith,- and good
works, we rejoice ; and if at any time we hear of any
adversity befallen you, either in the chance of war or the
jeopa-'dy of your soul, we are afflicted. We have heard that,
devoted to almsgiving, you prohibit theft and rapine, are a
lover of peace, a defender of widows, and of the poor ; and
for this we give God thanks. Your contempt for lawful
matrimony, were it for chastity's sake, would be laudable ;
but since you wallow in luxury and even in adultery with
nuns, it is disgraceful and damnable ; it dims the brightness
of your glory before God and man, and transforms you into
an idolater, because you have polluted the temple of God.
Wherefore, my beloved son, repent, and remember how
dishonourable it is, that you, who, by the grant of God, are
sovereign over many nations, should yourself be the slave oi
lust to his disservice. Moreover, we have heard that almost
all the nobles of the Mercian kingdom, following your
example, desert their lawful wives and live in guilty
intercourse with adultresses and nuns. Let the custom of a
foreign country teach you how far distant this is from
rectitude. For in old Saxony, where there is no knowledge
of Christ, if a virgin in her father's house, or a married
woman under the protection of her husband, should be guilty
of adultery, they burn her, strangled by her own hand, and
hang up her seducer over the grave where she is buried ; or
else, cutting off her garments to the waist, modest matrons
whip her and pierce her with knives, and fresh tormentors
punish her in the same manner as she goes from town to
town, till they destroy her. Again the Winedi,* the basest
of nations, have this custom — the wife, on the death of her
husband, casts herself on the same funeral pile to be
consumed with him. If then the gentiles, who know not
God, have so zealous a regard for chastity, how much more
ought you to possess, my beloved son, who are both a
Christian and a king ? Spare therefore your own soul, spare
a multitude of people, perishing by your example, for whose
souls you must give account. Give heed to this too, if the
nation of the Angles, (and we are reproached in France and

• The Winedi were seated on the western bank of the Vistula, near the
Baltic. In Wilkins, it is « apu 1 Persas," among the Persians.

I

A.D. 756.] Boniface's epistle. 75

in Italy and by the very pagans for it,) despising lawful
matrimony, give free indulgence to adultery, a race ignoble
and despising God must necessarily proceed from such a
mixture, which will destroy the country by their abandoned
manners, as was the case with the Burgundians, Proven9als,
and Spaniards, whom the Saracens harassed for many years
on account of their past transgressions. Moreover, it has
been told us, that you take away from the churches and
monasteries many of their privileges, and excite, by your
example, your nobility to do the like. But recollect, I
entreat you, what terrible vengeance God hath inflicted upon
former kings, guilty of the crime we lay to your charge.
For Ceolred, your predecessor, the debaucher of nuns, the
infringer of ecclesiastical privileges, was seized, while
splendidly regaling with his nobles, by a malignant spirit,
who snatched away his soul without confession and without
communion, while in converse with the devil and despising
the law of God. He drove Osred also, king of the Deirans
and Bernicians, who was guilty of the same crimes, to such
excess that he lost his kingdom and perished in early
manhood by an ignominious death. Charles also, governor
of the Franks, the subverter of many monasteries and the
appropriator of ecclesiastical revenues to his own use,
perished by excruciating pain and a fearful death." And
afterwards, "Wherefore, my beloved son, we entreat with
paternal and fervent prayers that you would not despise the
counsel of your fathers, who, for the love of God, anxiously
appeal to your highness. For nothing is more salutary to a
good king than the willing correction of such crimes when
they are pointed out to him ; since Solomon says * Whoso
loveth instruction, loveth wisdom.' Wherefore, my dearest
son, showing you good counsel, we call you to witness, and
entreat you by the living God, and his Son Jesus Christ,
and by the Holy Spirit, that you would recollect how
fleeting is the present life, how short and momentary is the
delight of the filthy flesh, and how ignominious for a person
of transitory existence to leave a bad example to posterity.
Begin therefore to regulate your life by better habits, and cor-
rect the past errors of your youth, that you may have praise
before men here, and be blest with eternal glory hereafter
We wish your Highness health and proficiency in virtue."

76 WnXIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. i. c 4.

I have inserted in my narrative portions of this epistle,
to give sufficient knowledge of these circumstances, partly in
the words of the author and partly in my own, shortening
the sentences as seemed proper, for which I shall easily be
be excused, because there was need of brevity for the sake of
those who were eager to resume the thread of the history.
Moreover, Boniface transmitted an epistle of like import to
archbishop Cuthbert, adding that he should remonstrate
with the clergy and nuns on the fineness and vanity of their
dress. Besides, that he might not wonder at his interfering
in that in which he had no apparent concern, that is to say,
how or with what manners the nation of the Angles con-
ducted itself, he gave him to understand, that he had bound
himself by oath to pope Gregory the Third, not to conceal
the conduct of the nations near him from the knowledge of
the apostolical see ; wherefore, if mild measures failed of suc-
cess, he should take care to act in such manner, that vices of
this kind should not be kept secret from the pope. Indeed,
on account of the fine texture of the clerical vestments,
Alcuin obliquely glances at Athelard the archbishop, Cuth-
bert's successor, reminding him that, when he should come
to Rome to visit the emperor Charles the Great, the grandson
of Charles of whom Boniface was speaking above, he should
not bring the clergy or monks dressed in party-coloured or
gaudy garments, for the clergy amongst the Franks dressed
only in ecclesiastical habits.

Nor could the letters of so great a man, which he was
accustomed to send from watchful regard to his legation
and pure love of his country, be without effect. For both
Cuthbert, the archbishop, and king Ethelbald summoned a
council for the purpose of retrenching the superfluities which
he had stigmatised. The acts of this synod, veiled in a
multiplicity of words, I shall forbear to add, as I think they
will better accord with another part of my work, when I
come to the succession of the bishops : but as I am now on
the subject of kingly affairs, I shall subjoin a charter of
Ethelbald's, as a proof of his devotion, because it took place
in the same council.

" It often happens, through the uncertain change of times,
that those things which have been confirmed by the testi-
mony and ad\'ice of many faithful persons, have been made

A.0. 749-777.] LULLUS OFF A. 77

of none effect by the contumacy of very many, or by the
artifices of deceit, without any regard to justice, unless they
have been committed to eternal memory by the authority of
writing and the testimony of charters. Wherefore I Ethel-
bald, king of the Mercians, out of love to heaven and regard
for my own soul, have felt the necessity of considering how
I may, by good works, set it free from every tie of sin. For
since the Omnipotent God, through the greatness of his
clemency, without any previous merit on my part, hath be-
stowed on me the sceptre of government, therefore I willingly
r^pay him out of that which he hath given. On this account
migrant, so long as I live, that all monasteries and churches
w my kingdom shall be exempted from public taxes, works,
and impositions, except the building of forts and bridges,
from which none can be released. And moreover the ser-
vants of God shall have perfect liberty in the produce of
their woods and lands, and the right of fishing, nor shall they
bring presents either to king or princes e:^pt voluntarily,
but they shall serve God without molestation^^

LuUus* succeeded Boniface, an Englishman by birth also ;
of whose sanctity mention is made in the life of St. Goar,
and these verses, which I remember to have heard from my
earliest childhood, bear witness :

" Lullus, than whom no holier prelate lives,
By God's assistance healing medicine gives,
Cures each disorder by his powerful hand.
And with his glory overspreads the land."

However, to return to my history, Ofia, descended from
Penda in the fifth degree, succeeded Ethelbald. He was a
a man of great mind, and one who endeavoured to bring to
effect whatever he had preconceived ; he reigned thirty-nine
years. When I consider the deeds of this person, I am
doubtful whether I should commend or censure. At one
time, in the same character, vices were so palliated by virtues,
and at another virtues came in such quick succession upon
vices that it is difiicult to determine how to characterize the
changing Proteus. My narrative shall give examples of
each. Engaging in a set battle with Cynewulf, king of the

* Lullus was appointed his successor by Boniface, on setting out foj
Friesland, in 755 ; he died a.d. 785.

78 WILLIAM OF MAI.MESBURY. [b.i.c.4.

West Saxons, he easily gained th(i victory, though the other
was a celebrated warrior. When he thought artifice would
better suit his purpose, this same man beheaded king Ethel-
bert, who had come to him through the allurement of great
promises, and was at that very time within the walls of his
palace, soothed into security by his perfidious attentions, and
then unjustly seized upon the kingdom of the East Angles
which Ethelbert had held.

The relics of St. Alban, at that time obscurely buried, he
ordered to be reverently taken up and placed in a shrine,
decorated to the fullest extent of royal munificence, with
gold and jewels; a church of most beautiful workmanship
was there erected, and a society of monks assembled. Yet
rebeUious against God, he endeavoured to remove the arclii-
episcopal see formerly settled at Canterbury, to Lichfield,
envying, forsooth, the men of Kent the dignity of the arch-
bishopric : on which account he at last deprived Lambert,
the archbishop, worn out with continual exertion, and who
produced many edicts of the apostolical see, both ancient and
modern, of all possessions within his territories, as well as
of the jurisdiction over the bishoprics. From pope Adrian,
therefore, whom he had wearied with plausible assertions for
a long time, as many things not to be granted may be gradu-
ally drawn and artfully wrested from minds intent on other
occupations, he obtained that there should be an archbishopric
of the Mercians at Lichfield, and that all the prelates of the
Mercians should be subject to that province. Their names
were as follow : Denebert, bishop of Worcester, W^erenbert,
of Leicester, Edulph, of Sidnacester, Wulpheard, of Here-
ford ; and the bishops of the East Angles, Alpheard, of Elm-
ham, Tidfrid, of Dunwich ; the bishop of Lichfield was
named Aldulph. Four bishops however remained suffragan
to Lambert, archbishop of Canterbury, London, Winchester,
Eochester, and Selsey. Some of these bishoprics are now in
being, some are removed to other places, others consolidated
by venal interest, for Leicester, Sidnacester, and Dunwich,
from somfe unknown cause, are no longer in existence. Nor
did Offa's rapacity stop here, for he showed himself a down-
right public pilferer, by converting to his own use the lands
of many churches, of which Malmesbury was one. But this
iniquity did not long deform canonical institutions, for soon

A-D-790.] kenulf's epistle. 79

after Kenulf, Offa's successor, inferior to no preceding king
in power or in faith, transmitted a letter to Leo, the successor
of Adrian, and restored Athelard who had succeeded Lambert,
to his former dignity. Hence Alcuin, in an epistle to the
same Athelard, says " Having heard of the success of your
journey, and your return to your country, and how you were
received by the pope, I give thanks with every sentiment of
my heart to the Lord our God, who, by the precious gift of
his mercy, directed your way with a prosperous progress,
gave you favour in the sight of the pope, granted you to
return home with the perfect accomplishment of your wishes,
and hath condescended, through you, to restore the holiest
seat of our first teacher to its pristine dignity." I think it
proper to subjoin part of the king's epistle and also of the
pope's, though I may seem by so doing to anticipate the
regular order of time ; but I shall do it on this account, that
it is a task of greater difficulty to blend together disjointed
facts than to despatch those I had begun.

" To the most holy and truly loving lord Leo, pontiff of
the sacred and apostolical see, Kenulf, by the grace of God
king of the Mercians, with the bishops, princes, and every
degree of dignity wider our authority, sendeth the salutation
of the purest love in Christ.

a \Yg gjyg thanks ever to God Almighty, who is wont, by
the means of new guides, the former being taken to the life
eternal, to guide the church, purchased by his precious
blood, amid the diverse storms of this world, to the haven of
salvation, and to shed fresh light upon it, in order that it be
led into no error of darkness, but may pursue the path of
truth without stumbling ; wherefore the universal church
justly rejoices, that when the true rewarder of all good men
took the most glorious pastor of his flock, Adrian, to be eter-
nally rewarded in heaven, still his kind providence gave a
shepherd to his flock, not less skilled, to conduct the sheep
of God into the fold of life. We also, who live on the
farthest confines of the world, justly boast, beyond all other
things, that the church's exaltation is our safety, its pros-
perity our constant ground of joy ; since your apostolical
dignity and our true faith originate from the same source,
Whentfore I deem it fitting to incline the ear of our obe-
dience, with all due humility, to your holy conunanJs, and

80 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. t»- »• «• i

to fulfil, with every possible endeavour, what shall seem just
to your piety for us to accomplish : but to avoid, and utterly
reject, all that shall be found inconsistent with right. But
now, I, Kenulf, by the grace of God king, humbly entreat
your excellence that I may address you as I wish, without
offence, on the subject of our progress, that you may receive
me with peaceful tranquillity into the bosom of your piety,
and that the liberal bounty of your benediction may qualify
me, gifted with no stock of merit, to rule my people ; in
order that God may deign, through your intercession, to de-
fend the nation, which, together with me, your apostolical
authority has instructed in the rudiments of the faith, against
all attacks of adversaries, and to extend that kingdom which
he hath given. This benediction, all the Mercian kings be-
fore me were, by your predecessors, deemed worthy to ob-
tain. This, I humbly beg, and this, O most holy man, I
desire to receive, that you would more especially accept me
as a son by adoption, as I love you as my father, and always
honour you with all possible obedience. For among such
great personages faith ever should be kept inviolate, as well
as perfect love, because paternal love is to be looked upon as
filial happiness in God, according to the saying of Hezekiah,
* A father will make known thy truth to his sons, O Lord.'
In which words I implore you, 0 loved father, not to deny
to your unworthy son the knowledge of the Lord in your
holy words, in order that, by your sound instruction, I may
deserve, by the assistance of God, to come to a better course
of life. And moreover, O most affectionate father, we beg,
with all our bishops, and every person of rank among us,
that, concerning the many inquiries on which we have
thought it right to consult your wisdom, you would cour-
teously reply, lest the traditions of the holy fathers and their
instructions should, through ignorance, be misunderstood by
us ; but let your reply reach us in charity and meekness,
that, through the mercy of God, it may bring forth fruit in
us. The first thing our bishops and learned men allege is,
that, contraiy to the canons and papal constitutions enacted
for our use by the direction of the most holy father Gregory,
as you know, the jurisdiction of the metropolitan of Canter-
bury is divided into two provinces, to whose power, by the
same father's command, twelve bishops ought to be subject,

A.D.7W.] kentlf's epistle. 8 J

as is read througliout our churches, in the letter which he
directed to his brother and fellow bishop, Augustine, con-
cerning the two metropolitans of London and York, which
letter doubtlessly you also possess. But that pontifical dig-
nity, which was at that time destined to London, with the
honour and distinction of the pall, was, for his sake, removed
and granted to Canterbury. For since Augustine, of blessed
memory, who, at the command of St. Gregory, preached the
word of God to the nation of the Angles, and so gloriously
presided over the church of the Saxons, died in that city,
and his body was buried in the church of St. Peter, the chief
of apostles, which his successor St. Laurentius consecrated,
it seemed proper to the sages of our nation, that the metro-
politan dignity should reside in that city where rests the
body of the man who planted the true faith in these parts.
The honour of this pre-eminence, as you know, king Offa
first attempted to take away and to divide it into two pro-
vinces, through enmity against the venerable Lambert and
the Kentish people ; and your pious brother and predecessor,
Adrian, at the request of the aforesaid king, first did what
no one had before presumed, and honoured the prelate of the
Mercians with the pall. But yet we blame neither of these
persons, whom, as we believe, Christ crowns with eternal
glory. Nevertheless we humbly entreat your excellence, on
whom God hath deservedly conferred the key of wisdom,
that you would consult with your counsellors on this subject,
and condescend to transmit to us what may be necessary for
us to observe hereafter, and what may tend to the unity of
real peace, as we wish, through your sound doctrine, lest the
coat of Christ, woven throughout without seam, should suffer
any rent among us. We have written this to you, most holy
father, with equal humility and regard, earnestly entreating
your clemency, that you would kindly and justly reply to
those things which have been of necessity submitted to you.
Moreover we wish that you would examine, with pious love,
that epistle which, in the presence of all our bishops,
Athelard the archbishop wrote to you more fully on the sub-
ject of his own affairs and necessities, as well as on those of
all Britain ; that whatever the rule of faith requires in those
matters which are contained therein, you would condescend
truly to explain. Wherefore last year I sent my own em*

G

fi|2 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b.i.c.4.

bassy, and that of the bishops by Wada the abbat, which he
received, but idly and foolishly executed. I now send you a
small present as a token of regard, respected father, by
Birine the priest, and Fildas and Ceolbert, my servants, that
is to say, one hundred and twenty mancuses, * together with
letters, begging that you would condescend to receive them
kindly, and give us your blessing. May God Almighty long
preserve you safe to the glory of his holy church."

" To the most excellent prince, my son Kenulf, king of
the Mercians, of the province of the Saxons, pope Leo
sendeth greeting. Our most holy and reverend brother
Athelard, archbishop of Canterbury, arriving at the holy
churches of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, as well for
the faithful performance of his vow of prayer as to acquaint
us with the cause of his ecclesiastical mission to the aposto-
lical see, hath brought to us the enclosures of your royal ex-
cellence, where finding, in two epistles filled with true faith,
your great humility, we return thanks to Almighty God, who
hath taught and inclined your most prudent excellence to
have due regard/rith us in all things towards St. Peter, the
chief of apostle^^smd to submit with meekness to all apostoli-
cal constitution3«''''^oreover, in one of these epistles we find
that, were it Requisite, you would even lay down your life
for us, for the sake of our apostolical office. And again, you
confess that you rejoice much in the Lord at our prosperity,
and that when these our letters of kindest admonition reach
the ears of your cordiality, you will receive them with all
humility and spiritual joy of heart, as sons do the gift of a
father. It is added too that you had ordered a small present
out of your abundance to be offered to us, an hundred and
twenty mancuses, which, with ardent desire for the salva-
tion of your soul, we have accepted. The aforesaid arch-
bishop, with his attendants, has been honourably and kindly
received by us, and has been rendered every necessary assist-
ance. In the meantime, trusting to your most prudent ex-
cellence when you observe, even in your own royal letters,
that no Christian can presume to run counter to our aposto-

* The value of the mancus is. doubtful ; sometimes it appears to mean
the same with the mark, at others it is supposed equal to thirty pence of
the money of that time. The gold manca is supposed to be eight to the
pound, wliich waa probably the coin sent to the pope. .

A.D. 787.J ' POPE leg's EPISTLEo ^3

lical decisions, we therefore endeavour, with all possible dili-
gence, to transmit and ordain what shall be of service to your
kingdom, that as a canonical censure enjoins your royal ex-
cellence, and all the princes of your nation, and the whole
people of God, to observe all things which the aforesaid
archbishop Athelard our brother, or the whole body of the
evangelical and apostolical doctrine and that of the holy
fathers and of our predecessors the holy pontiffs ordain, you
ought by no means to resist their orthodox doctrine in any
thing, as our Lord and Saviour says in the Gospel, " He who
receiveth you receiveth me," and " he who receives a prophet,
in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward."
And how much more do we praise the Almighty for this
same lord archbishop, whom you have so highly commended
to us as being, what he really is, honourable, and skilful,
and prudent, of good morals, worthy before God and men.
O loving son and excellent king, we praise God, that hath
pointed out to you a prelate who, like a true shepherd, is able
to prescribe due penance, according to the doctrine of the
holy Scriptures, and to rescue the souls of those who are
under his sacerdotal authority from the nethermost hell,
snatching them from inextinguishable fire, bringing them
into the haven of salvation, and offering for them to God
Almighty a sacrifice, fit and pure in the sight of the Divine
Majesty. And since the aforesaid archbishop hath pleased
us extremely in every respect, in all holiness and conversa-
tion of life, confiding much to him, we give him such pre-
latical power by the authority of St. Pete^, the chief of the
apostles, whose office, though unworthily^A^fill, that if any
in his province, as well kings and princes^ people, shall
transgress the commandments of the Lord, he shall excom-
municate him until he repent ; and if he remain impenitent,
let him be to you as an heathen and a publicanN>But with
respect to the aforesaid Athelard, archbishop efuanterbury.
since your excellent prelates have demanded from us that we
do him justice concerning the jurisdiction which he lately
lield, as well of bishops as monasteries, and of which he has
been unjustly deprived, as you know, and which have been,
taken from his venerable see : we, making most diligent
search, have found in our sacred depository, that St. Gregory;
our predecessor, delivered that diocese to his deputed arch

g2

84 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. tB,Le.4

bishop St, Augustine, with the right of consecrating bishops,
to the full number of twelve. Hence we also, having ascer-
tained the truth, have, by our apostolical authority, placed all
ordinations or confirmations on their ancient footing, and do
restore them to him entire, and we deliver to him the grant
of our confirmation, to be duly observed by his church,
according to the sacred canons."

In the meantime Offa, that the outrages against his
countrymen might not secretly tend to his disadvantage, in
order to conciliate the favour of neighbouring kings, gave
his daughter Eadburga in marriage to Bertric, king of
the West Saxons ; and obtained the amity of Charles the
Great, king of the Franks, by repeated embassies, though
he could find little in the disposition of Charles to second
his views. They had disagreed before, insomuch that violent
feuds having arisen on both sides, even the intercourse of
traders was prohibited. There is an epistle of Alcuin to
this effect, part of which I shall subjoin, as it affords a strong
proof of the magnanimity and valour of Charles, who spent
all his time in war against the Pagans, rebels to God. He
says,* " The ancient Saxons and all the Friesland nations
were converted to the faith of Christ through the exertions
of king Charles, urging some with threats, and others with
rewards. At the end of the year the king made an attack
upon the Sclavonians and subjugated them to his power.
The Avares, whom we call Huns, made a furious attempt
upon Italy, but were conquered by the generals of the afore-
said most Christian king, and returned home with disgrace.
In like manner they rushed against Bavaria, and were again
overcome and dispersed by the Christian army. Moreover
the princes and commanders of the same most Christian
king took great part of Spain from the Saracens, to the ex-
tent of three hundred miles along the sea coast : but, O
shame ! these accursed Saracens, who are the Hagarens,
have dominion over the whole of Africa, and the larger part
of Asia Major. I know not what will be our destination, for
some ground of difference, fomented by the devil, has arisen
between king Charles aij4 king Offa, so that, on both sides.

♦ See this entire, Usserii Veterum Epistolarum Hibernicarum Syllogo
epist. 18* p. 36 ; and Alcuini Opera, torn. i. p. 6, epist. 3.

A.D.787.] EPISTLE OF CHARLEMAGNE. 85

all navigation is prohibited the merchants. Some say that
we are to be sent into those parts to treat of peace."

In these words, in addition to what I have remarked above,
any curious person may determine how many years have
elapsed since the Saracens invaded Africa and Asia Major.
And indeed, had not the mercy of God animated the native
spirit of the emperors of the Franks, the pagans had long
since subjugated Europe also. For, holding the Constanti-
nopolitan emperors in contempt, they possessed themselves of
Sicily and Sardinia, the Balearic isles, and almost all the
countries surrounded by the sea, with the exception of Crete,
Rhodes, and Cyprus. In our time however they have been
compelled to relinquish Sicily by the Normans, Corsica and
Sardinia by the Pisans, and great part of Asia and Jerusa-
lem itself by the Franks and other nations of Europe. But,
as I shall have a fitter place to treat largely of these matters
hereafter, I shall now subjoin, from the words of Charles
himself, the treaty which was ratified between him and Offa
king of the Mercians.

" Charles, by the grace of God king of the Franks and
Lombards, and patrician of the Romans, to his esteemed and
dearest brother Offa king of the Mercians, sendeth health : —
First, we give thanks to God Almighty for the purity of the
Catholic faith, which we find laudably expressed in your
letters. Concerning pilgrims, who for the love of God or
the salvation of their souls, wish to visit the residence of the
holy apostles, let them go peaceably without any molestation ;
but if persons, not seeking the cause of religion, but that of
gain, be found amongst them, let them pay the customary
tolls in proper places. We will, too, that traders have due
protection within our kingdom, according to our mandate,
and if in any place they suffer wrongful oppression, let them
appeal to us or to our judges, and we will see full justice
done. Let your kindness also be apprized that we have sent
some token of our regard, out of our dalmatics* and palls, to
each episcopal see of your kingdom or of Ethelred's, as an

• The dalmatic was a garment worn by the clergy, and sometimes by
princes. Its name is said to have been derived from its invention in Dal-
matia. The pall here apparently signifies an upper vesture also, in form
resembling a cloak without sleeves ; but it has a variety of meanings. See
Du Cange, and note at p. 44, of Bede's Eccles. History.

86 WILLIAM OF MALIIESBURY. fn t c.4

almsgiving, on account of our apostolical lord Adrian, earnestly
begging that you would order him to be prayed for, not as
doubting that his blessed soul is at rest, but to show our
esteem and regard to our dearest friend. Moreover we have
sent somewhat out of the treasure of those earthly riches,
which the Lord Jesus hath granted to us of his unmerited
bounty, for the metropolitan cities, and for yourself a belt, an
Hungarian sword, and two silk cloaks."

I have inserted these brief extracts from the epistle that
posterity may be clearly acquainted with the friendship of
Offa and Charles ; confiding in which friendly intercourse,
although assailed by the hatred of numbers, he passed the
rest of his life in uninterrupted quiet, and saw Egfert his
son anointed to succeed him. This Egfert studiously avoided
the cruel path trod by his father, and devoutly restored the
privileges of all the churches which Offa had in his time
abridged. The possessions also which his father had taken
from Malmesbury he restored into the hands of Cuthbert,
then abbat of that place, at the admonition of the aforesaid
Athelard archbishop of Canterbury, a man of energy and a
worthy servant of God, and who is uniformly asserted to
have been its abbat before Cuthbert, from the circumstance
of his choosing there to be buried. But while the hopes of
Egfert's noble qualities were ripening, in the first moments
of his reign, untimely death cropped the flower of his youth-
ful prime ; on which account Alcuin writing to the patrician
Osbert, says, " I do not think that the most noble youth Eg-
fert died for his own sins, but because his father, in the es-
tablishment of his kingdom, shed a deluge of blood." Dying
after a reign of four months, he appointed Kenulf, nephew
of Penda in the fifth degree by his brother Kenwalk, to suc-
ceed him.

Kenulf was a truly great man, and surpassed his fame by
his virtues, doing nothing that malice could justly find fault
with. Religious at home, victorious abroad, his praises will
be deservedly extolled so long as an impartial judge can be
found in England. Equally to be admired for the extent of
his power and for the lowliness of his mind ; of which he
gave an eminent proof in restoring, as we have related, its
faltering dignity to Canterbury, he little regarded earthly gran-
deur in his own kingdom at the expense of deviating from

.I.D. 79&-825.] KENELM — ^WITHLAP. 87

•ahciently-enjoined canons. Taking up Offa's hatred against
the Kentish people, he sorely afflicted that province, and led
away captive their king Eadbert, surnamed Pren ; but not
Jong after, moved with sentiments of pity, he released him.
For at Winchelcombe, where he had built a church to God,
which yet remains, on the day of its dedication he freed the
captive king at the altar, and consoled him with liberty ;
thereby giving a memorable instance of his clemency.
Cuthred,* whom he had made king over the Kentish people,
was present to applaud this act of royal munificence. The
church resounded with acclamations, the street shook with
crowds of people, for in an assembly of thirteen bishops and
ten dukes, no one was refused a largess, all departed with
full purses. Moreover, in addition to those presents of in-
estimable price and number in utensils, clothes, and select
horses, which the chief nobility received, he gave to all who
did not possess landed property f a pound of silver, to each
presbyter a marca of gold, to every monk a shilling, and
lastly he made many presents to the people at large. After
he had endowed the monastery with such ample revenues as
would seem incredible in the present time, he honoured it by
his sepulture, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign. His
son Kenelm, of tender age, and undeservedly murdered by
his sister Quendrida, gained the title and distinction of mar-
tyrdom, and rests in the same place.

After him the kingdom of the Mercians sank from its
prosperity, and becoming nearly lifeless, produced nothing
worthy to be mentioned in history. However, that no one
may accuse me of leaving the history imperfect, I shall glance
over the names of the kings in succession. Ceolwulf, the
brother of Kenulf, reigning one year was expelled in the
.second by Bernulf ; who in the third year of his reign being
overcome and put to flight by Egbert, king of the West
Saxons, was afterwards slain by the East Angles, because
he had attempted to seize on East Anglia, as a kingdom sub-
ject to the Mercians from the time of Off a. Ludecan, after

* Kenulf made Cuthred king of Kent, a.d. 798. Eadbert had been
dreadfully mutilated by having his eyes put out and his hands cut off.
See chap. i.

t " Qui agros non habebant." These words refer to an inferior class of
gentry, as he mentions the people at large, "poyulus," afterwards.

88 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [ikhcS,

a reign of two years, was despatched by these Angles, as he
was preparing to avenge his predecessor : Withlaf, subjuga-
ted in the commencement of his reign by the before-men-
tioned Egbert, governed thirteen years, pajdng tribute to
him and to his son, both for his person and his property :
Berthwulf reigning thirteen years on the same conditions,
was at last driven by the Danish pirates beyond the sea :
Burhred marrying Ethelswith, the daughter of king Ethel-
wulf, the son of Egbert, exonerated hfmself, by this affinity,
from the payment of tribute and the depredations of the
enemy, but after twenty-two years, driven by them from his
country, he fled to Rome, and was there buried at the school
of the Angles, in the church of St. Mary ; his wife, at that
time continuing in this country, but afterwards following her
husband, died at Pavia. The kingdom was next given by
the Danes to one Celwulf, an attendant of Burhred's, who
bound himself by oath that he would retain it only at their
pleasure : after a few years it fell under the dominion of
Alfred, the grandson of Egbert. Thus the sovereignty of
the Mercians, which prematurely bloomed by the overween-
ing ambition of an heathen, altogether withered away through
the inactivity of a driveller king, in the year of our Lord's
incarnation eight hundred and seventy-five.

CHAP. V.

Of the kings of the East Angles, [a.d. 520 — 905.]

As my narrative has hitherto treated of the history of the
four more powerful kingdoms in as copious a manner, I trust,
as the perusal of ancient writers has enabled me, I shall now,
as last in point of order, run through the governments of the
East Angles and East Saxons, as suggested in my preface.
The kingdom of the East Angles arose anterior to the West
Saxons, though posterior to the kingdom of Kent. The first *
and also the greatest king of the East Angles was Redwald,
tenth in descent from Woden as they affirm ; for all the
southern provinces of the Angles and Saxons on this side of

* Redwald was not the first king of East Anglia, but the first who be-
came distinguished. In the year 571, UfFa assumed the title of king : lie
was succeeded by his son, Titil, in 578 who was followed by Redwald, his
■on. See Bede, b. ii. c. 15,

A.i>. 61&— 793.1 E0BPWAL1>— EDMUND. 89

the river Humber, with their kings, were subject to his autho-
rity. This is the person whom I have formerly mentioned
as having, out of regard for Edwin, killed Ethelfrid, king of
the Northumbrians. Through the persuasion of Edwin too
he was baptized ; and after, at the instigation of his wife,
abjured the faith. His son, Eorpwald, embraced pure Chris-
tianity, and poured out his immaculate spirit to God, being
barbarously murdered by the heathen Richbert. To him
succeeded Sigebert, his brother by the mother's side, a wor-
thy servant of the Lord, polished from all barbarism by his
education among the Franks. For, being driven into banish-
ment by Redwald, and for a long time associating with them,
he had received the rites of Christianity, which, on his
coming into power he graciously communicated to the whole
of his kingdom, and also instituted schools of learning in
different places. This ought highly to be extolled : as men
heretofore uncivilized and irreligious, were enabled, by his
means, to taste the sweets of literature. The promoter of
his studies and the stimulator of his religion was Felix the
bishop, a Burgundian by birth, who now lies buried at Ram-
sey. Sigebert moreover renouncing the world and taking
the monastic vow, left the throne to his relation, Ecgric,
with whom, being attacked in intestine war by Penda, king
of the Mercians, he met his death, at the moment when,
superior to his misfortunes, and mindful of his religious pro-
fession, he held only a wand in his hand. The successor of
Ecgric was Anna, the son of Eni, the brother of Redwald,
involved in similar destruction by the same furious Penda ;
he was blessed with a numerous and noble offspring, as the
second book will declare in its proper place. To Anna suc-
ceeded his brother Ethelhere, who was justly slain by Oswy
king of the Northumbrians, together with Penda, because he
was an auxiliary to him, and was actually supporting the
very army which had destroyed his brother and his kinsman.
His brother Ethelwald, in due succession, left the kingdom
to Adulf and Elwold, the sons of Ethelhere. Next came
Bernred. After him Ethelred. His son was St. Ethelbert,
whom Offa king of the Mercians killed through treachery, as
has already been said, and will be repeated hereafter. After
Hm, through the violence of the Mercians, few kings reigned
in Eastern Anglia till the time of St. Edmund, and he was

90 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [b.i. c.«

despatched in the sixteenth year of his reiojn, by Hingwar, li
heathen ; from which time the Angles ceased to command iu
their own country for fifty years. For the province was
nine years without a king, owing to the continued devasta-
tions of the pagans ; afterwards both in it and in East Sax-
ony, Gothrun, a Danism" i king, reigned for twelve years, in
the time of king Alfred. Gothrun had for successor a Dane
also, by name Eohric, who, after he had reigned fourteen
years, was taken off by the Angles, because he conducted
himself with cruelty towards them. Still, however, liberty
beamed not on this people, for the Danish earls continued to
oppress them, or else to excite them against the kings of the
West Saxons, till Edward, the son of Alfred, added both
provinces to his own West Saxon empire, expelling the
Danes and freeing the Angles. This event took place in the
fiftieth year after the murder of St. J^dmund, king and mar-
tyr, and in the fifteenth* of his own reign.

CHAP. VI.

Of the kings of the East Saxons, [a. d. 520 — 823.

Nearly co-eval with the kingdom of the East Angles, was
that of the East Saxons ; which had many kings in succes-
sion, though subject to others, and principally to those of the
Mercians. First, then, Sleda,f the tenth from Woden,
reigned over them ; whose son, Sabert, nephew of St. Ethel-
bert, king of Kent, by his sister Ricula, embraced the faith
of Christ at the preaching of St. Mellitus, first bishop of
London ; for that city belongs to the East Saxons. On the
death of Sabert, his sons, Sexred and Seward, drove Melli-
tus into banishment, and soon after, being killed by the West
Saxons, they paid the penalty of their persecution against
Christ. Sigbert, surnamed the Small, the son of Seward,
succeeding, left the kingdom to Sigebert, the son of Sigebald,

* According to the Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 921, that is, the 21st of Ed- ^
ward the Elder, and the fiftieth from the murder of king Edmund. Now/H
following this statement, as Edward succeeded his father, Alfred a.d. 901,j l
the expulsion of the Danes would be the twentieth of his reign. In Flo-f |
rence of Worcester the union of the kingdoms under Edward the Elder i^ //
assigned to the year 918. — Hardy, j

t Sieda was not the first, but their times are uncertain. See Florence
of Worcester, who calls him the son of Escwine, wh«:» Henry of HimtiKg|
don considers to have been the first king of Essex. |

A.D. 653-823. J OF THE KINGS OF KENT. 91

who was the brother of Sabert. This Sigebert, at the ex-
hortation of king Oswy, was baptized in Northumbria by
bishop Finan, and brought back to his nation, by the ministry
of bishop Cedd,* the faith which they had expelled together
with Mellitus. After gloriously governing the kingdom, he
left it in a manner still more glorious ; for he was murdered by
his near relations, merely because, in conformity to the gos-
pel-precept, he used kindly to spare his enemies, nor regard
with harsh and angry countenance, if they were penitent,
those who had offended him. His brother Suidelm, baptized
by the same Cedd in East Anglia, succeeded. On his death,
Sighere, the son of Sigbert the Small, and Sebbi, the son of
Seward, held the sovereignty. Sebbi's associate dying, he
himself voluntarily retired from the kingdom in his thirtieth
year, becoming a monk, as Bede relates. His sons Sighard and
Suefred reigned after him. On their decease Offa, the son
Sighere, governed the kingdom for a short time ; a youth of
engaging countenance and disposition, in the flower of his
age, and highly beloved by his subjects. He, through the
persuasion of Kyneswith, daughter of king Penda, whom he
had anxiously sought in marriage, being taught to aspire
after heavenly affections, went to Rome with Kenred king of
the Mercians, and St. Edwin bishop of Worcester ; and
there taking the vow, in due time entered the heavenly man-
sions. To liim succeeded Selred, son of Sigebert the Good,
during thirty-eight years ; who being slain, Swithed assumed
the sovereignty of the East Saxons ;"!• but in the same year
that Egbert king of the West Saxons subdued Kent, being
expelled by him, he vacated the kingdom ; though London,
with the adjacent country, continued subject to the kings of
the Mercians as long as they held their sovereignty.

The kings of Kent, it is observed, had dominion peculi-
arly in Kent, in which are two sees ; the archbishopric of
Canterbury, and the bishopric of Rochester.

* Brother to St. Chad, bishop of Lichfield. See Bed6, b. iii. c. 22.

+ Here seems an oversight which may be supplied from Florence of
Worcester. " Swithed succeeded Selred, and held the sovereignty some
years ; after whom few native kings ruled in Essex, for in the same year
that Egbert conquered Kent, they surrendered to his power." Selred died
746 ; their submission took place 823. It would appear, however, from
the authorities adduced by Mr. Turner, Hist, of Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p.
818, that Selred was in fact king of East- Anglia.

92 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. rB.i.c.6.

^ The kings of the West Saxons ruled in Wiltshire, Berk-
hire, and Dorsetshire ; in which there is one bishop, whose
see is now at Sarum or Salisbury ; formerly it was at Rams-
bury, or at Sherborne : in Sussex, which for some httle time
possessed a king of its own ;* the episcopal see of this
eounty was anciently in the island of Selsey, as Bede relates,
where St. Wilfrid built a monastery ; the bishop now dwells
at Chichester : in the (bounties of Southampton and Surrey ;
which have a bishop, whose see is at Winchester : in the
county of Somerset, which formerly had a bishop at Wells,
but now at Bath : and in Domnonia, now called Devonshire,
and Cornubia, now Cornwall ; at that time there were two
bishoprics, one at Crediton, the other at St. German's ; now
there is but one, and the see is at Exeter.

The kings of the Mercians governed the counties of Glou-
cester, Worcester, and Warwick ; in these is one bishop
whose residence is at Worcester : in Cheshire, Derbyshire,
and Staffordshire ; these have one bishop, who has part of
Warwickshire and Shropshire ; his residence is at the city
of Legions, that is Chester or Coventry ; formerly it was at
Lichfield : in Herefordshire ; and there is a bishop having
half Shropshire and part of Warwickshire, and Gloucester-
shire ; whose residence is at Hereford : in Oxfordshire,
Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, half of
Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Lincoln-
shire ; which counties are under the jurisdiction of a bishop
now resident at Lincoln, but formerly at Dorchester in the
county of Oxford : in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire,
which belong to the diocese of York ; formerly they had
their own bishop, whose seat was at Leicester.

The kings of the East Angles had dominion over the
county of Cambridge ; there is a bishop, whose seat is at
Ely : and in Norfolk and Suffolk : whose see is at Norwich ;
formerly at Elmham or Thetford.

The kings of the East Saxons ruled in Essex, in Middle-

* The kingdom of Sussex was founded by jEUa, who arrived in Britain
with three vessels, and accompanied by his three sons, a.d. 477. He seems
to have attained a very high degree of power, and was succeeded by his
son Cissa. — The affairs of this kingdom are extremely obscure ; it appears
to have been sometimes dependent on Kent and sometimes on Wessex.
until finally imited to the latter by Egbert, a.d. 823.

A.V. 800.] PROLOGUE TO BOOK H.

sex, and half of Hertfordshire ; where there anciently was,
and stiU remains, the bishop of London.

The kings of the Northumbrians governed all the country
which is beyond the river Humber, even into Scotland ; and
there were the archbishop of York, the bishops of Hexham,
of Ripon, of Lindisfarne, and of Candida Casa [Whitherne] ;
Hexham and Ripon are no more ; Lindisfarne is translated
to Durham.

Such were the divisions of the kingdom of England,
although the kings, according to the vicissitude of the times,
now one, and then the other, would exceed their boundaries
through their courage, or lose them by their indolence ; but
all these several kingdoms Egbert subjugated by his abilities,
and consolidated into one empire, reserving to each their own
laws. Wherefore, since I have passed beyond his times, ful-
filling my promise in a review of the different periods, I will
here fix the limits of my first volume, that the various tracks
of the different kingdoms may unite in the general path of
the West Saxon Empire.

BOOK IL
PROLOGUE.

Ji^ LONO period has elapsed since, as well through the care of
m^ parents as my own industry, I became familiar with
books. This pleasure possessed me from my childhood : this
source of delight has grown with my years. Lideed I was
so instructed by my father, that, had I turned aside to other
pursuits, I should have considered it as jeopardy to my soul
and discredit to my character. Wherefore mindful of the
adage "covet what is necessary," I constrained my early
9ge to desire eagerly that which it was disgraceful not to
possess. I gave, indeed, my attention to various branches of
literature, but in different degrees. Logic, for instance,
which gives arms to eloquence, I contented myself with
barely hearing. Medicine, which ministers to the health of
the body, I studied with somewhat more attention. But
now, having scrupulously examined the several branches of

94 -WTLLIAJkl OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c 1.

Etliics, I bow down to its majesty, because it spontaneously
unveils itself to those who study it, and directs their minds
to moral practice ; History more especially ; which, by an
^ agreeable recapitulation of past events, excites its readers, by
\ example, to frame their lives to the pursuit of good, or to
\ aversion from evil. When, therefore, at my own expense, I
had procured some historians of foreign nations, I proceeded,
during my domestic leisure, to inquire if any thing con-
cerning our own country could be found worthy of handing
down to posterity. Hence it arose, that, not content with
the writings of ancient times, I began, myself, to compose ;
not indeed to display my learning, which is comparatively
nothing, but to 'bring to light events lying concealed in the
confused mass of antiquity. In consequence rejecting vague
opinions, I have studiously sought for chronicles far and near,
though I confess I have scarcely profited any thing by this
industry. For perusing them all, I still remained poor in
information ; though I ceased not my researches as long as I
could find any thing to read. However, what I have clearly
ascertained concerning the four kingdoms, I have inserted in
my first book, in which I hope truth will find no cause to
blusli, though perhaps a degree of doubt may sometimes
arise. I shall now trace the monarchy of the West Saxon
kingdom, through the line of successive princes, down to the
coming of the Normans : which if any person will conde-
scend to regard with complacency, let him in brotherly love
observe the following rule : "If before, he knew only these
things, let him not be disgusted because I have inserted
them ; if he shall know more, let him not be angry that I
have not spoken of them ; " but rather let him communicate
his knowledge to me, while I yet live, that at least, those
events may appear ia the margin of my history, which do
not occur in the text/

CHAP. I.

The history of king Egbert, [a.d. 800—839.]

My former volume terminated where the four kingdoms of
Britain were consolidated into one. Egbert, the founder of
tliis sovereignty, grand-nephew of king Ina, by his brother
liigild, of high rank in his own nation, and liberally

A.D. 300—828.] OF KING EGBERT. 95

educated, had been conspicuous among the West Saxons
from his childhood. His uninterrupted course of valour
begat envy, and as it is almost naturally ordained that kings
should regard with suspicion whomsoever they see growing
up in expectation of the kingdom, Bertric, as before related,
jealous of his rising character, was meditating how to
destroy him. Egbert, apprised of this, escaped to Offa, king
of the Mercians. While Offa concealed him with anxious
care, the messengers of Bertric arrived, demanding the
fugitive for punishment, and offering money for Ms sur-
render. In addition to this they solicited his daughter in
marriage for their king, in order that the nuptial tie might
bind them in perpetual amity. In consequence Offa, who
would not give way to hostile threats, yielded to flattering
allurements, and Egbert, passing the sea, went into France ;
a circumstance which I attribute to the counsels of God, that
a man destined to rule so great a kingdom might learn the
art of government from the Franks ; for this people has no
competitor among all the Western nations in military skill
or polished manners. This ill-treatment Egbert used as an
incentive to " rub off the rust of indolence," to quicken the
energy of his mind, and to adopt foreign customs, far
differing from his native barbarism. On the death, therefore,
of Bertric, being invited into Britain by frequent messages
from his friends, he ascended the throne, and realized the
fondest expectations of his country. He was crowned in the
year of our Lord's incarnation 800, and in the thirty-fourth
year of the reign of Charles the Great, of France, who
survived this event twelve years. In the meantine Egbert,
when he had acquired the regard of his subjects by his
affability and kindness, first manifested his power against
those Britons who inhabit that part of the island which is
called Cornwall, and having subjugated them, he proceeded
to make the Northern Britons,* who are separated from the
others by an ann of the sea, tributary to him. While the
fame of these victories struck terror into the rest, Bemulf
king of the Mercians, aiming at something great, and
supposing it would redound to his glory if he could remove
the terror of others by his own audacity, proclaimed war

* The early adventures of Egbert are found only in Malmesburj'. He
does not observe the order in which these events happened.

96 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUET. [b. ir. c. L

against Egbert. Deeming it disgraceful to retreat, Egbert
met him with much spirit, and on then coming into action,
Bernulf was defeated and fled. This battle took place at
Hellendun, a.d. 824.* Elated with this success, the West
Saxon king, extending his views, in the heat of victory, sent
his son Ethelwulf, with Alstan, bishop of Sherborne, and a
chosen band, into Kent, for the purpose of adding to the
West Saxon dominions that province, which had either
grown indolent through long repose, or was terrified by the
fame of his valour. These commanders observed their
instructions effectually, for they passed through every part
of the country, and driving Baldred its king, with little
difficulty, beyond the river Thames, they subjugated to his
dominion, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, Kent,
Surrey, the South Saxons, and the East Saxons, who had
formerly been under the jurisdiction of his predecessors.
Not long after the East Angles, animated by the support of
Egbert, killed by successive stratagems, Bernulf and
Ludecan, kings of the Mercians. The cause of their
destruction was, their perpetual incursions, with their usual
insolence, on the territories of others. Withlaf their
successor, first driven from his kingdom by Egbert, and
afterwards admitted as a tributary prince, augmented the
West Saxon sovereignty. In the same year the Northum-
brians perceiving that themselves only remained and were a
conspicuous object, and fearing lest he should pour out his
long-cherished anger on them, at last, though late, gave
hostages, and yielded to his power. When he was thus
possessed of all Britain, the rest of his life, a space of nine
years, passed quietly on, except that, nearly in his latter days,
a piratical band of Danes made a descent, and disturbed the
peace of the kingdom. So changeable is the lot of human
affairs, that he, who first singly governed all the Angles,
could derive but little satisfaction from the obedience of his
countrymen, for a foreign enemy was perpetually harassing

• The printed text of the fonner editions places the battle of Hellendun,
A.D. 806. Several MSS. have 826, one 825, and two only appear to adopt
the correct year 824, as inserted above. These are — The Arundel MS.
No. 35, Brit. Mua. and the MS. in Trinity Coll. Cam. R. 14. The place
is variously conjectured: Wiltcn in Wiltshire; Hillingdon in Middlesex:
and near Ilighworth in Wilts.

if

A.D. &3&-851. OF KING ETHELWULF. 97

him and his descendants. Against these invaders the forces
of the Angles made a stand, but fortune no longer flattered
the king with her customary favours, but deserted him in the
contest : for, when, during the greater part of the day, he
had almost secured the victory, he lost the battle as the sun
dechned ; however, by the favour of darkness, he escaped
the disgrace of being conquered. In the next action, with a
small force, he totally routed an immense multitude. At
length, after a reign of thirty-seven years and seven months,
he departed this life, and was buried at Winchester ; leaving
an ample field of glory for his son, and declaring, that he
must be happy, if he was careful not to destroy, by the
indolence natural to his race, a kingdom that himself had
consolidated with such consummate industry.

CHAP. IL

Of king Etheltoulf. [a.d. 839—858.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 837,* Ethelwulf, whom
some call Athulf, the son of Egbert, came to the throne, and
reigned twenty years and five months. Mild by nature he
infinitely preferred a life of tranquillity to dominion over
many provinces ; and, finally, content with his paternal
kingdom, he bestowed all the rest, which his father had sub-
jugated, on his son Ethelstan ; of whom it is not known
when, or in what manner, he died. He assisted Burhred,
king of the Mercians, with an army against the Britons, and
highly exalted him by giving him his daughter in marriage.
He frequently overcame the piratical Danes, who were tra-
versing the whole island and infesting the coast with sudden
descents, both personally and by his generals ; although,
according to the chance of war, he himself experienced
great and repeated calamities ; London and almost the whole
of Kent being laid waste. Yet these disasters were ever
checked by the alacrity of the king's advisers, who suffered
not the enemy to trespass with impunity, but fully avenged
themselves on them by the effect of their united counsels.
For he possessed at that time, two most excellent prelates,

* Malmesbury, in following the Saxon Chronicle, is iwo years earlier
hea the Northern Chronicles.

H

W WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c. »

St. Swithun of Winchester, and Ealstan of Sherborne, who
perceiving the king to be of heavy and sluggish disposition,
perpetually stimulated him, by their admonitions, to the
knowledge of governing. Swithun, disgusted with earthly,
trained his master to heavenly pursuits ; Ealstan, knowing
that the business of the kingdom ought not to be neglected,
continually inspirited him against the Danes : himself fur-
nishing the exchequer with money, as well as regulating the
army. Any peruser of the Annals* will find many affairs
of this kind, both entered on with courage, and terminated
with success through his means. He held his bishopric
fifty years ; happy in living for so long a space in the prac-
tice of good works. I should readily commend him, had he
not been swayed by worldly avarice, and usurped what be-
longed to others, when by his intrigues he seized the monas-
tery of Malmesbury for his own use. We feel the mischief
of this shameful conduct even to the present day, although
the monastery has baffled all similar violence from the time
of his death till now, when it has fallen again into like diffi-
culty, f Thus the accursed passion of avarice corrupts the
human soul, and forces men, though great and illustrious
iny<5ther respects, into hell.

/Ethelwulf, confiding in these two supporters, provided
en^ually for external emergencies, and did not neglect the
interior concerns of his kingdom. For after the subjugation
of his enemies, turning to the establishment of God's wor-
ship, he granted every tenth hide of land within his king-
dom to the servants of Christ, free from all tribute, exempt
from ^ services. But how small a portion is this of his
glory J^ Having settled his kingdom, he went to Rome, and
thcDg^ffered to St. Peter that tribute which England pays to
this day, J before pope Leo the fourth, who had also, formerly,

» See Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 823—825.

t Roger, bishop of Salisbury, seized it in like manner to his own use,
A..D. 1118, and held it till his death, 1159.

t Alluding to the Rome-scot, or Peter's-pence, a penny from each
house, paid on the festival of St. Peter. Its origin and application seem
obscure : Higden interpolates Malmesbm-y, as assigning its first grant to
Ina. : Henry of Huntingdon says, Offa. This grant is supposed by Spel-
man to have been made in a General Council of the nation. A similar
payment appears to have been made by other nations. It is to be observed
that Asser mentions only Ethelwulf 's donation of three hundred maiicuses.

A.D. 814— 840.1 SUCCESSORS OF CHARI.EMAGNE. 99

honourably received, and anointed as king, Alfred,* his son,
whom Ethelwulf had sent to him. Continuing there a whole
year, he nobly repaired the School of the Angles, which,
according to report, was first founded by OfFa, king of the
Mercians, and had been burned down the preceding year.f
Returning home through France, he married Judith, daugh-
ter of Charles, king of the Franks.

OF THE SUCCESSORS OF CHARLEMAGNE.

For Louis the Pious, son of Charles the Great, had four
sons ; Lothaire, Pepin, Louis, and Charles, surnamed the
Bald ; of these Lothaire, even in his father's life-time,
usurping the title of emperor, reigned fifteen years in that
part of Germany situated near the Alps which is now called
Lorraine, that is, the kingdom of Lothaire, and in all Italy
together with Rome. ]n his latter days, afilicted with sick-
ness, he renounced the world. He was a man by far more
inhuman than all who preceded him ; so much so, as even
frequently to load his own father with chains in a dungeon.
Louis indeed was of mild and simple manners, but he was
unmercifully persecuted by Lothaire, because Ermengarda,
by whom he had his first family, being dead, he was doat-
ingly fond of Charles, his son by his second wife Judith.

* Asser relates that pope Leo stood sponsor for, and confirmed Alfred,
who had been sent to Rome by his father the preceding year.

■f The conflagration here named seems that mentioned by Anastasius,
who tells us, that, shortly after the accession of Pope Leo the fourth, a
fire broke out in the Saxon street, but the pope, making the sign of the
cross with his fingers, put a stop to it. (Anastas. Biblioth. p. 319.) From
this author's account it appears to have been a street or quarter of con-
siderable extent, and near to St. Peter's. There were schools of this kind
belonging to various nations at Rome. Matt. Westminster says it was
founded by Ina, with the consent and approbation of Pope Gregory, that
priests, nobles, prelates, or kings, of the English nation, might be enter-
tained there during their stay for the purpose of being thoroughly instructed
in the Catholic faith ; for that, from the time of Augustine, the doctrine and
schools of the English had been interdicted by the popes on accovmt of the
various heresies which had sprung up among them ; that, moreover, Ina be-
stowed a penny from each house, or Rome-scot, for the support of these
persons. (Matt. West. a.d. 727.) It was destroyed by fire in the year
816, and partially again a.d. 854. Our text, therefore, is at variance with
the account given by Anastasius, and the latter is probably incorrect.

h2

100 WILLIAM OF MALMESBLTIT. [b. n. c. 2..

Pepin, another son of Louis, had dominion in Aquitaine*
and Gascony. Louis, the third son of Louis, in addition
to Norica, which ne had ah-eady, possessed the kingdoms
which his father had given him, that is to say, Alemannia,
Thuringia, Austrasia, Saxony, and the kingdom of the
Avares, that is, the Huns. Charles obtained the half of
France on the west, and all Neustria, Brittany, and the
greatest part of Burgundy, Gothia, Gascony, and Aquitaine,
Pepin the son of Pepin being ejected thence and compelled
to become a monk in the monastery of St. Methard ; who
afterwards escaping by flight, and returning into Aquitaine,
remained there in concealment a long time ; but being again
treacherously deceived by Ranulph the governor, he was
seized, brought to Charles at Senlis, and doomed to perpetual
exile. Moreover, after the death of the most pious emperor,
Louis, Lothaire, who had been anointed emperor eighteen
years before his father's decease, being joined by Pepin with
the people of Aquitaine, led an army against his brothers,
that is, Louis, the most pious king of the Bavarians, and
Charles, into the county of Auxerre to a place called Fonte-
nai :f where, when the Franks with all their subject nations
had been overwhelmed by mutual slaughter, Louis and
Charles ultimately triumphed ; Lothaire being put to flight.
After this most sanguinary conflict, however, peace was
made between them, and they divided the sovereignty of the
Franks, as has been mentioned above. Lothaire had three
sons by Ermengarda the daughter of Hugo : first, Louis, to
whom he committed the government of the Romans and of
Italy ; next, Lothaire, to whom he left the imperial crown ;
lastly, Charles, to whom he gave Provence. Lothaire died
in the year of our Lord's incarnation 855, of his reign the

* The divisions of France were liable to considerable variation : but it
may be sufficient to observe, that Aquitaine lay between the Garonne and
Loire ; Vasconia, from the Garonne to the Pyrenees ; Gothia, from the
Pyrenees along the coast to the eastward ; Austrasia or East France, be-
sides various tracts beyond the Rhine, lay between that river and the
Meuse ; Neustria or West France, from the Channel to the Loire with
the exception of Brittany.

t The battle of Fontenai is considered as the most calamitous in the
French annals ; more than one hundred thousand men having, it is said,
»»erished in it. It was fought on the 25th of June, a.d. 841, a memorable
tuouth in the aimals of France.

A-.II.855.J SUCCESSORS OF CHARLEMAGNE. 10|

thirty-third. Charles his son, who governed Provence, sur-
vived him eight years, and then Louis, emperor of the Ro-
mans, and Lothaire his brother, shared his kingdom of
Provence. But Louis king of the Norici, that is, of the
Bavarians, the son of Louis the emperor, in the year of our
Lord's incarnation 865, after the feast of Easter, divided his
kingdom between his sons. To Caroloraan he gave Norica,
that is, Bavaria, and the marches bordering on the Sclavo
nians and the Lombards ; to Louis, Thuringia, the Eastern
Franks, and Saxony; to Charles he left Alemannia, and
Curnw alia, that is, the county of Cornwall.* Louis him-
self reigned happily over his sons, in full power for ten
years, and then died in the year of our Lord's incarnation
876, when he had reigned fifty-four years. Charles king of
the West Franks, in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, enter-
ing Italy, came to offer up his prayers in the church of the
apostles, and was there elected emperor by all the Roman
people, and consecrated by pope John on the 2oth of Decem-
ber, in the year of our Lord's incarnation 875. Thence he
had a prosperous return into Gaul. But in the thirty-eighth
year of his reign, and the beginning of the third of his im-
perial dignity, he went into Italy again, and held a conference
with pope John ; and returning into Gaul, he died, after
passing Mount Cenis, on the 13th of October, in the tenth
of the Indiction, in the year of our Lord 877, and was suc-
ceeded by his son Louis. Before the second year of his
reign was completed this Louis died in the palace at Com-
peigne, on the sixth before the Ides of April, in the year of
our Lord 879, the twelfth of the Indiction. After him his
sons, Louis and Caroloman, divided his kingdom. Of these,
Louis gained a victory over the Normans in the district of
Vimeu, and died soon after on the 12th of August, in the
year of our Lord 881, the fifteenth of the Indiction, having
reigned two years, three months, and twenty-four days. He
was succeeded in his government by his brother Caroloman,
who, after reigning three years and six days, was wounded
by a wild boarf in the forest of Iveline, in Mount Ericus.

* Comu-guallia, i.e. the Horn of Gaul from the projection of Brit-
tany.

•f Some pretend that he was accidentally wounded by Bertholde, one of
his attendants ; and that ihe story of the boar was invented in order to

J 02 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT.

He departed this life in the year of our Lord 884, the second
of the Indiction, the 24th of December. Next Charles king
of the Suavi, the son of Louis king of the Norici, assumed
the joint empire of the Franks and Romans, in the year of
the Incarnate Word 885, the third of the Indiction ; whose
vision, as I think it worth preserving, I here subjoin :

" In the name of God most high, the King of kings. As
I, Charles by the free gift of God, emperor, king of the Ger-
mans, patrician of the Romans, and emperor of the Franks,
on the sacred night of the Lord's day, after duly performing
the holy service of the evening, went to the bed of rest and
sought the sleep of quietude, there came a tremendous voice
to me, saying, ' Charles, thy spirit shall shortly depart from
thee for a considerable time :' immediately I was rapt in the
spirit, and he who carried me away in the spirit was most
glorious to behold. In his hand he held a clue of thread
emitting a beam of purest light, such as comets shed when
they appear. This he began to unwind, and said to me, * Take
the thread of this brilliant clue and bind and tie it firmly on
the thumb of thy right hand, for thou shalt be led by it
through the inextricable punishments of the infernal regions.*
Saying this, he went before me, quickly unrolling the thread
of the brilliant clue, and led me into very deep and fiery
valleys which were full of pits boiling with pitch, and brim-
stone, and lead, and wax, and grease. There I found the
bishops of my father and of my uncles : and when in terror
I asked them why they were suffering such dreadful tor-
ments ? they replied, ' We were the bishops of your father
and of your uncles, and instead of preaching, and admonish-
ing them and their people to peace and concord, as was our
duty, we were the sowers of discord and the fomenters of
evil. On this account we are now burning in these infernal
torments, together with other lovers of slaughter and of
rapine ; and hither also will your bishops and ministers come,
who now delight to act as we did.* While I was fearfully
listening to this, behold the blackest demons came flying
about me, with fiery claws endeavouring to snatch away the
thread of life which I held in my hand, and to draw it to
them ; but repelled by the rays of the clue, they were unable

screen him from punishment. Malmesbury, however, follows Asser, the
Saxon Chron., &c.

.D. 885.] Charles's vision. 103

to touch it. Next running beMnd me, they tried lo gripe
me in their claws and cast me headlong into those sulphu-
reous pits : but my conductor, who carried the clue, threw a
thread of light over my shoulders, and doubling it, drew w^
strongly after him, and in this manner we ascended lofty
fiery mountains, fi-om which arose lakes, and burning rivers,
and all kinds of burning metals, wherein I found immersed
innumerable souls of the vassals and princes of my father
and brothers, some up to the hair, others to the chin, and
others to the middle, who mournfully cried out to me, ' While
we were living, we were, together with you, and your father,
and brothers, and uncles, fond of battle, and slaughter, and
plunder, through lust of earthly things : wherefore we now
undergo punishment in these boiling rivers, and in various
kinds of liquid metal.' While I was, with the greatest
alarm, attending to these, I heard some souls behind me cry-
ing out, ' The great will undergo still greater torment.' 1
looked back and beheld on the banks of the boiling river,
furnaces of pitch and brimstone, filled with great dragons,
and scorpions, and different kinds of serpents, where I also
saw some of my father's nobles, some of my own, and of
those of my brothers and of my uncles, who said, ' Alas,
Charles, you see what dreadful torments we undergo on
account of our malice, and pride, and the evil counsel which
we gave to our kings and to you, for lust's sake.' When I
could not help groaning mournfully at this, the dragons ran
at me with open jaws filled with fire, and brimstone, and
pitch, and tried to swallow me up. My conductor then
tripled the thread of the clue around me, which by the
splendour of its rays overcame their fiery throats : he then
pulled me with greater violence, and we descended into a
valley, which was in one part dark and burning like a fiery
furnace, but in another so extremely enchanting and glorious,
that I cannot describe it. I turned myself to the dark part
which emitted flames, and there I saw some kings of my race
in extreme torture ; at which, affrighted beyond measure and
reduced to great distress, I expected that I should be imme.
diately thrown into these torments by some very black giants,
who made the valley blaze with every kind of flame. I trem-
bled very much, and, the thread of the clue of light assisting
my eyes, I saw, on the side of the valley, the liglit somewhat

104 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c. a

brightening, and two fountains flowing out thence : one was
extremely hot ; the other clear and luke-warm ; two large
casks were there besides. When, guided by the thread of
light, I proceeded thither, I looked into the vessel containing
boiling water, and saw my father Louis, standing therein up to
his thighs. He was dreadfully oppressed with pain and agony,
and said to me, ' Fear not, my lord Chp/,les ; I know that your
spirit will again return into your body, and that God hath
permitted you to come hither, that you might see for what
crimes myself and all whom you have beheld, undergo these
torments. One day I am bathed in the boiling cask ; next I
pass into that other 'delightful water ; which is eifected by
the prayers of St. Peter and St. Remigius, under whose pa-
tronage our royal race has hitherto reigned. But if you, and
my faithful bishops and abbats, and the whole ecclesiastical
order will quickly assist me with masses, prayers and psalms,
and alms, and vigils, I shall shortly be released from the
punishment of the boiling water. For my brother Lothaire
and his son Louis have had these • punishments remitted by
tho prayers of St. Peter and St. Remigius, and have now
entered into the joy of God's paradise.' He then said to me,
' Look on your left hand ;' and when I had done so, I saw
two very deep casks boiling furiously. ' These,' said he,
* are prepared for you, if you do not amend and repent of
your atrocious crimes.' I then began to be dreadfully afraid,
and when my conductor saw my spirit thus terrified, he said
to me, ' Follow me to the right of that most resplendent
valley of paradise.' As we proceeded, I beheld my uncle
Lothaire sitting in excessive brightness, in company with
glorious kings, on a topaz-stone of uncommon size, crowned
with a precious diadem : and near him, his son Louis crowned
in like manner. Seeing me near at hand he called me to
him in a kind voice, saying, ' Come to me, Charles, now my
third successor in the empire of the Romans ; I know that
you have passed through the place of punishment where your
father, my brother, is placed in the baths appointed for him ;.
but, by the mercy of God, he will be shortly liberated from
those punishments as we have been, by the merits of St.
Peter and the prayers of St. Remigius, to whom God hath
given a special charge over the kings and people of the
Franks, and unless he shall continue to favour and assist the

A.B. 885.] Charles's vision. 105

dregs of our family, our race must shortly cease both from
the kingdom and the empire. Know, moreover, that the rule
of the empire will be shortly taken out of your hand, nor
will you long survive. Then Louis turning to me, said, * The
empire which you have hitherto held by hereditary right,
Louis the son of my daughter is to assume.' So saying,
there seemed immediately to appear before me a little child,
and Lothaire his grandfather looking upon him, said to me,
* This infant seems to be such an one as that wliich the Lord
set in the midst of the disciples, and said, " Of such is the
kingdom of God, I say unto you, that their angels do always
behold the face of my father who is in heaven." But do you
bestow on him the empire by that thread of the clue which
you hold in your hand.' I then untied the thread from the
thumb of my right hand, and gave him the whole monarchy
of the empire by that thread, and immediately the entire
clue, like a brilliant sun-beam, became rolled up in his hand.
Thus, after this wonderful transaction, my spirit, extremely
wearied and affrighted, returned into my body. Therefore,
let all persons know willingly or unwillingly, forasmuch as,
according to the will of God, the whole empire of the Romans
will revert into his hands, and that I cannot prevail against
him, compelled by the conditions of this my calling, that God,
who is the ruler of the living and the dead, will both com-
plete and establish this ; whose eternal kingdom remains for
ever and ever, amen."

The vision itself, and the partition of the kingdoms, I have
inserted in the very words I found them in.* This Charles,
then, had scarcely discharged the united duties of the empire
and kingdom for two years, when Charles, the son of Louis
who died at Compeigne, succeeded him : this is the Charles
who married the daughter of Edward, king of England, and
gave Normandy to RoUo with his daughter Gisla, who was
the surety of peace and pledge of the treaty. To this
Charles, in the empire, succeeded Arnulph ; a king of the
imperial line, tutor of that young Louis of whom the vision
above recited speaks. Arnulph dying after fifteen years, this
Louis succeeded him, at whose death, one Conrad, king of the

* This vision is copied from Hariulfe's Chronicle, lib. iii. cap. 21. The
Annals ascribed to Asser also recite the vision, sub anno 886. —See Mr,
Hardy's NoiCy vol. i. p. 1 60.

/i06.

WILLL43I OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. t. 2.

Teutonians, obtained the sovereignty. His son Henry, who
succeeded him, sent to Athelstan king of the Angles, for his
two sisters, Aldgitha and Edgitha, the latter of whom he
married to his son Otho, the former to a certain duke near
the Alps. Thus the empire of the Romans and the kingdom
of the Franks being severed from their ancient union, the
one is governed by emperors and the other by kings. But
as I have wandered wide from my purpose, whilst indulging
in tracing the descent of the illustrious kings of the Franks,
I will now return to the course I had begun, and to Ethel-
wulf.

On his return after his year's peregrination and marriage
with the daughter of Charles the Bald, as I have said, he
found the dispositions of some persons contrary to his ex-
pectations. For Ethelbald his son, and Ealstan bishop of
Sherborne, and Enulph earl of Somerset conspiring against
him, endeavoured to eject him from the sovereignty; but
through the intervention of maturer counsel, the kingdom
was divided between the father and his son. This partition
was extremely unequal j for malignity was so far successful
that the western portion, which was the better, was allotted
to the son, the eastern, which was the worse, fell to the
father. He, however, with incredible forbearance, dreading
"a worse than civil war," calmly gave way to his son, re-
straining, by a conciliatory harangue, the people who had
assembled for the purpose of asserting his dignity. And
though all this quarrel arose on account of his foreign wife,
yet he held her in the highest estimation, and used to place
her on the throne near himself, contrary to the West Saxon
custom. For that people never suffered the king's 6bnsort
either to be seated by the king or to be honoured with the
appellation of queen, on account of the depravity of Ead-
burga, daughter of Offa, king of the Mercians ; who, as we
have before mentioned, being married to Bertric, king of the
West Saxons, used to persuade him, a tender-hearted man,
as they report, to the destruction of the innocent, and would
herself take off by poison those against whom her accusa-
tions failed. This was exemplified in the case of a youth
much beloved by the king, whom she made away with in
this manner: and immediately afterwards Bertric fell sick,
wasted away and died, from having previously drunk of the

A-D. 857.1 ETHEL WULP'S CHARTER.

(^

same potion, unknown to the queen. The rumour of this
getting abroad, drove the poisoner from the kingdom. Pro-
ceeding to Charles the Great, she happened to find him
standing with one of his sons, and after oiFering him pre-
sents, the emperor, in a playful, jocose manner, commanded
her to choose which she liked best, himself, or his son.
Eadburga choosing the young man for his blooming beauty,
Charles replied with some emotion, "Had you chosen me,
you should have had my son, but since you have chosen him,
you shall have neither." He then placed her in a monastery
where she might pass her life in splendour ; but, soon after,
finding her guilty of incontinence he expelled her.* Struck
with this instance of depravity, the Saxons framed the regu-
lation I have alluded to, though Ethelwulf invalidated it by
his afifectionate kindness. He made his will a few months
before he died, in which, after the division of the kingdom
between his sons Ethelbald and Ethelbert, he set out the
dowry of his daughter, and ordered, that, till the end of
time, one poor person should be clothed and fed from every
tenth hide of his inheritance, and that every year, three
hundred mancas of goldf should be sent to Rome, of which
one-third should be given to St. Peter, another to St. Paul
for lamps, and the other to the pope for distribution. He
died two years after he came from Rome, and was buried at
Winchester in the cathedral. But that I may return from
my digression to my proposed series, I shall here subjoin the
charter of ecclesiastical immunities which he granted to all
En^and.

^^ur Lord Jesus Christ reigning for evermore. Since
we perceive that perilous times are pressing on us, that
there are in our days hostile burnings, and plunderings
of our wealth, and most cruel depredations by devastating
enemies, and many tribulations of barbarous and pagan na-
tions, threatening even our destruction : therefore I Ethel-
wulf king of the West Saxons, with the advice of my
bishops and nobility, have established a wholesome counsel

* Asser had conversed with many persons who afterwards saw her beg-
ging for a subsistence in Pavia, where she died.

t One hundred were for the pope, and the other two hundred to be
divided between the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul, to provide lights
on Easter-eve,

jrQy) WILLIAM 01 MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 2.

and general remedy. 1 have decided that there shall be
given to the servants of God, whether male or female or lay-
men,* a certain hereditary portion of the lands possessed by
persons of every degree, that is to say, the tenth manse,t
but where it is less than this, then the tenth part; that it
may be exonerated from all secular services, all royal tri-
butes great and small, or those taxes which we call Witere-
den. And let it be free from all things, for the release of
our souls, that it may be applied to God's service alone,
exempt from expeditions, the building of bridges, or of forts ;
in order that they may more diligently pour forth their
prayers to God for us without ceasing, inasmuch as we have
in some measure alleviated their service. Moreover it hath
pleased Ealstan bishop of Sherborne, and Swithun bishop
of Winchester, with their abbats and the servants of God,
to appoint that all our brethren and sisters at each church,
every week on the day of Mercury, that is to say, Wednes-
day, should sing fifty psalms, and every priest two masses,
one for king Ethelwulf, and another for his nobility, con-
senting to this gift, for the pardon and alleviation of their
sins; for the king while living, they shall say, 'Let us
pray: O God, who justifiest.' For the nobility while living,
* Stretch forth, O Lord.' After they are dead; for the de-
parted king, singly: for the departed nobility, in common:
and let this be firmly appointed for all the times of Chris-
tianity, in like manner as that immunity is appointed, so
long as faith shall increase in the nation of the Angles
This charter of donation was written in the year of our
Lord's incarnation 8 44, J the fourth of the indiction, and on
the nones, i. e. the fifth day of November, in the city of
Winchester, in the church of St. Peter, before the high
altar, and they have done this for the honour of St. Michael

* Ingulf, who likewise gives this charter, reads, "laicis miseris," the
poor laity.

+ Manse implies generally a dwelling and a certain quantity of land an-
nexed : sometimes it is synonymous with a hide, or plough-land.

J Ingulf has a.d. 855 : 3 indict, which agrees with Asser, who assigns
that year for the grant. It appears to be the charter which Malmesbury
before referred to on the king's going to Rome, and has given rise to much
controversy; some holding that it conveyed the tithes of the land only,
while others maintain that 't was an actual transfer of the tenth part of all
lauds in the kingdom. See Carte, vol. i. 293. Both opinions are attended

4LU. 858.] WEST SAXON KINGS. 10&

the archangel, and of St. Mary the glorious queen, the
mother of God, and also for the honour of St. Peter the
chief of the apostles, and of our most holy father pope
Gregory, and all saints. And then, for greater secuiity,
king Ethelwulf placed the charter on the altar of St. Peter,
and the bishops received it in behalf of God's holy faith,
and afterwards transmitted it to all churches in their dio-
ceses according to the above-cited form."

From this king the English chronicles trace the line of the
generation of their kings upwards, even to Adam, as we
know Luke the evangelist has done with respect to our Lord
Jesus ; and which, perhaps, it will not be superfluous for me
to do, though it is to be apprehended, that the utterance of
barbarous names may shock the ears of persons unused to
them. Ethelwulf was the son of Egbert, Egbert of Elmund,
Elmund of Eafa, Eafa of Eoppa, Eoppa was the son of Ingild,
the brother of king Ina, who were both sons of Kenred ;
Kenred of Ceolwald, Ceolwald of Cutlia, Cutha of Cuthwin,
Cuthwin of Ceawlin, Ceawlin of Cynric, Cynric of Creoding,
Creoding of Cerdic, who was the first king of the West
Saxons ; Cerdic of Elesa, Elesa of Esla, Esla of, Gewis,
Gewis of Wig, Wig of Freawin, Freawin of Frithogar,
Frithogar of Brond, Brond of Beldeg, Beldeg of Woden ;
and from him, as we have often remarked, proceeded the
kings of many nations. Woden was the son of Frithowald,
Frithowald of Frealaf, Frealaf of Finn, Finn of Godwulf,
Godwulf of Geat, Geat of Taetwa, Tsetwa of Beaw, Beaw of
Sceldi, Sceldi of Sceaf ; who, as some affirm, was driven on
a certain island in Germany, called Scamphta, (of which
Jornandes, * the historian of the Goths, speaks,) a little boy
in a skift', without any attendant, asleep, with a handful of
corn at his head, whence he was called Sceaf; and, on
account of his singular appearance, being well received by

with considerable difficulties. Mr. Carte very inadvertently imagines this
charter and the copy in Ingulf to be distinct grants : the latter being, he
says, a confirmation and extension of the former, after Ethelwulf 's return
from Rome : but the false date in Malmesbury is of no importance, some
MSS. having even 814, and 855 was the year of his departure, not of his
return.

* Jordanes, or Jornandes, was secretary to the kings of the Goths in
Italy. He was afterwards bishop of Ravenna, and wrote, De Rehu*
Gothicis ; and also, De Regnorum et Temponim Successione.— Hardy,

1 10 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. Lb. it. c. 3.

the men of that country, and carefully educated, in his riper
age he reigned in a town which was called Slaswic, but at
present Haitheby ; which country, called old Anglia, whence
the Angles came into Britain, is situated between the Saxons
and the Gioths. Sceaf was the son of Heremod, Heremod
of Itermon, Itermon of Hathra, Hathra of Guala, Guala of
Bedwig, Bedwig of Streaf, and he, as they say, was the son
of Noah, bom in the Ark.*

CHAPTER m.

0/ Ethelbaldj Ethelbert, and Ethelred, sons of Ethelum'f,
[a.d. 858—872.]

<^N the year of our Lord 857, f the two sons of Ethelwulf
divided their paternal kingdom ; Ethelbald reigned in West
Saxony, and Ethelbert in Kent. Ethelbald, base and per-
fidious, defiled the bed of his father by marrying, after his
deciiase, Judith his step-mother. Dying, however, at the
end of five years, and being interred at^ Sherborne, the whole
government devolved upon his brothej:.^ In his time a band
of pirates landing at Southampton, ^^ceeded to plunder the
populous city of Winchester, but soon after being spiritedly
repulsed by the king's generals, and suffering considerable
loss, they put to sea, and coasting round, chose the Isle of
Thanet, in Kent, for their winter quarters. The people of
Kent, giving hostages, and promising a sum of money, would
have remained quiet, had not these pirates, breaking the
treaty, laid waste the whole district by nightly predatory
excursions, but roused by this conduct they mustered a force
and drove out the truce-breakers. Moreover Ethelbert,
having ruled the kingdom with vigour and with mildness,

* A similar list of the genealogy of the West Saxon kings, will be
found in the Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 855.

f Malmesbury's Chronology to the accession of Edward the Elder, is a
year later than the Saxon Chronicle, Asser, and Florence of Worcester.
His computation rests on fixing the death of Ethelwulf in 857, who went
to Rome in 855, stayed there a year, and died in the second year after his
return. Allowing ten years for Ethelbald and Ethelbert, it brings the
accession of Ethelred to 867, and five years added to this give 872 for
Alfred's accession. After the death of Ethelbald Judith returned to
France. She left no children ; but marrying afterwards Baldwin, count of
Flanders, she buie him Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror.

A.D.867— 8n.] BATTLE OF ESCHENDUN. Ql

paid the debt of nature after five years, and was buried at
Sherborne.

In the year of our Lord 867, Ethelred, the son of Ethel-
wulf, obtained his paternal kingdom, and ruled it for the
same number of years as his brothers. Surely it would be a
pitiable and grievous destiny, that all of them should perish
by an early death, unless it is, that in such a tempest of
evils, these royal youths should prefer an honourable end to
a painful government. Indeed, so bravely and so vigorously
did thfey contend for their country, that it was not to be im**
puted to them that their valour did not succeed in its design.
Fifially, it is related, that this king was personally engaged
in hostile conflict against the enemy nine times in one year,
with various success indeed, but for the most part victor,
besides sudden attacks, in which, from his skill in warfare,
he frequently worsted those straggling depredators. In these

i several actions the Danes lost nine earls and one king, be-
sides common people innumerable.

One battle memorable beyond all the rest was that which
took place at Eschendun. * The Danes, having collected an
army at this place, divided it into two bodies ; their two
kings commanded the one, all their earls the other. Ethelred
drew near with his brother Alfred. It fell to the lot of
Ethelred to oppose the kings, while Alfred was to attack the
earls. Both armies eagerly prepared for battle, but night
approaching deferred the conflict till the ensuing day.
Scarcely had the morning dawned ere Alfred was ready at
his post, but his brother, intent on his devotions, had re-
mained in his tent ; and when urged on by a message, that
the pagans were rushing forward with unbounded fury, he
declared that he shouAd not move a step till his religious ser-
vices were ended. /^Hiis piety of the king was of infinite
advantage to his brother, who was too impetuous from the
thoughtlessness of youth, and had already far advance^
The battalions of the Angles were now giving way, ftfid
even bordering on flight, in consequence of their adversaries
pressing upon them from the higher ground, for the Chris-

I tians were fighting in an unfavourable situation, when the

* Supposed Aston, near Wallingford, Berks. Others think Ashendon in
' Bucks. The Latin and Saxon names, Mons Fraxinif and Eschen-dun,
seem to favour the latter.

112

WrLLLOI OF MALMESBUEY. (b. ii. c. 3

king himself, signed with the cross of God, unexpectedly-
hastened forward, dispersing the enemy, and rallying his
subjects. The Danes, terrified equally by his courage and
the divine manifestation, consulted their safety by flight.
Here fell Oseg their king, five earls, and an innumerable
multitude of common people.

The reader will be careful to observe that during this
time, the kings of the Mercians and of the Northumbrians,
eagerly seizing the opportunity of the arrival of the Danes,
with whom Ethelred was fully occupied in fighting, and
somewhat relieved from their bondage to the West Saxons,
had nearly regained their original power. All the provinces,
therefore, were laid waste by cruel depredations, because
each king chose rather to resist the enemy within his own
territories, than to assist liis neighbours in their difficulties ;
and thus preferring to avenge injury rather than to prevent
it, they ruined their country by their senseless conduct. The
Danes acquired strength without impediment, whilst the
apprehensions of the inhabitants increased, and each suc-
cessive victory, from the addition of captives, became the
means of obtaining another. The country of the East
Angles, together with their cities and villages, was possessed
by these plunderers ; its king, St. Edmund, slain by them in
the year of our Lord's incarnation 870, on the tenth of
November, purchased an eternal kingdom by putting off this
mortal life. The Mercians, often harassed, alleviated their
afflictions by giving hostages. The Northumbrians, long
embroiled in civil dissensions, made up their difi'erences on
the approach of the enemy. Replacing Osbert their king,
whom they had expelled, upon the throne, and collecting a
powerful force, they went out to meet the foe ; but being
easily repelled, they shut themselves up in the city of York,
which was presently after set on fire by the victors ; and
when the flames were raging to the utmost and consuming
the very walls, they perished for their country in the
conflagration. In this manner Northumbria, the prize of
war, for a considerable time after, felt the more bitterly,
through a sense of former liberty, the galling yoke of the
barbarians. And now Ethelred, worn down with numberless
labours, died and was buried at Wimborne.

A.D. 872-878.] Alfred's DREAM. 113

CHAP. IV.

Of king Alfred, [a.d. 872—901.]

•In the year of our Lord's incarnation 872, Alfied, the
youngest son of Ethelwulf, who had, as has been related
before, received the royal unction and crown from pope Leo
the fourth at Rome, acceded to the sovereignty and retained
it with the greatest difficulty, but with equal valour, twenty-
eight years and a half. To trace in detail the mazy labjnrinth
of his labours was never my design ; because a recapitulation
of his exploits in their exact order of time would occasion
some confusion to the reader. For, to relate how a hostile
army, driven by himself or his generals, from one part of a
district, retreated to another ; and, dislodged thence, sought
a fresh scene of operation and filled every place with rapine
and slaughter ; and, if I may use the expression, "to go
round the whole island with him," might to some seem the
height of folly : consequently I shall touch on all points •
Bmnmarily. For nine successive years battling with his
enemies, sometimes deceived by false treaties, and sometimes
wreaking his vengeance on the deceivers, he was at last
reduced to such extreme distress, that scarcely three
counties, that is to say, Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Somer-
setshire, stood fast by their allegiance, as he was compelled
to retreat to a certain island called Athelney, which from its
marshy situation was hardly accessible. He was accustomed
afterwards, when in happier circumstances, to relate to his
companions, in a lively and agreeable manner, his perils
there, and how he escaped them by the merits of St.
Cuthbert ; * for it frequently happens that men are pleased
with the recollection of those circumstances, which formerly
they dreaded to encounter. During his retreat in this island,
as he was one day in the house alone, his companions being
dispersed on the river side for the purpose of fishing, he
endeavoured to refresh his weary frame with sleep : and
behold ! Cuthbert, formerly bishop of Lindisfarne, addressed

• This legend will be foxind in the curious " account of the translatioa
of the body of St. Cuthbert from Lindisfarne to Durham," which we shall
give in " Anglo-Saxon Letters, Biographies," &c. It is taken from tiie
Acta Sanctorum, iii. March, p. 127.

i

Ii4 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. ii. c r.

him, while sleeping, in the following manner: — "I am
Cuthbert, if ever you heard of me ; God hath sent me to
announce good fortune to you ; and since England has
already largely paid the penalty of her crimes, God now,
through the merits of her native saints, looks upon her with
an eye of mercy. You too, so pitiably banished from your
kingdom, shall shortly be again seated with honour on your
throne ; of which I give you this extraordinary token : your
fishers shall this day bring home a great quantity of large
fish in baskets ; which will be so much the more ex-
traordinary because the river, at this time hard-bound with ice,
could warrant no such expectation ; especially as the air now
dripping with cold rain mocks the art of the fisher. But,
when your fortune shall succeed to your wishes, you will act
as becomes a king, if you conciliate God your helper, and
me his messenger, with suitable devotion." Sapng thus,
the saint divested the sleeping king of his anxiety j and
comforted his mother also, who was lying near him, and
endeavouring to invite some gentle slumbers to her hard
couch to relieve her cares, with the same joyful intelligence.
When they awoke, they repeatedly declared that each had
had the self-same dream, when the fishermen entering,
displayed such a multitude of fishes as would have been
' sufficient to satisfy the appetite of a numerous army.

Not long after, venturing from his concealment, he
hazarded an experiment of consummate art. Accompanied
only by one of his most faithful adherents, he entered the
tent of the Danish king under the disguise of a minstrel ; *
and being admitted, as a professor of the mimic art, to the
banqueting room, there was no object of secrecy that he did
not minutely attend to both with eyes and ears. Remaining
there several days, till he had satisfied his mind on every
matter which he wished to know, he returned to Athelney :
and assembling his companions, pointed out the indolence of
the enemy and the easiness of their defeat. All were eager
for the enterprise, and himself collecting forces from every
side, and learning exactly the situation of the barbarians
from scouts he had sent out for that purpose, he suddenly
attacked and routed them with incredible slaughter. The

• This story rests upon the authority of Ingulf and Williann of
Malmesbury. Asser does not notice it.

K

A.D. 878— 890.] DEFEAT OF THE DANES. 115

remainder, with their king, gave hostages that they would
embrace Cliristianity and depart from the country ; which
they performed. For their king, Gothrun, whom our people
call Grurmund, with thirty nobles and almost all the com-
monalty, was baptized, Alfred standing for him ; and the
provinces of the East Angles, and Northumbrians* were
given up to him, in order that he might, under fealty to the
king, protect with hereditary right, what before he had over
run with predatory incursion. However, as the Ethiopian
cannot change his skin, he domineered over these tributary
provinces with the haughtiness of a tyrant for eleven years,
and died in the twelfth, transmitting to his posterity the inhe-
ritance of his disloyalty, until subdued by Athelstan, the
grandson of Alfred, they were, though reluctantly, compelled
to admit one common king of England, as we see at the pre-
sent day. Such of the Danes as had refused to become
Christians, together with Hastings, went over sea, where the
inhabitants are best able to tell what cruelties they perpe-
trated. For overrunning the whole maritime coasts to the
Tuscan sea, they unpeopled Paris and Tours, as well as
many other cities seated on the Seine and Loire, those noted
rivers of France. At that time the bodies of many saints
being taken up from the spot of their original interment and
conveyed to safer places, have ennobled foreign churches with
their relics even to this day. Then also the body of St.
Martin, venerated, as Sidonius says, over the whole earth, in
which virtue resides though life be at an end, was taken to
Auxerre, by the clergy of his church, and placed in that of
St. German, where it astonished the people of that district
by unheard-of miracles. And when they who came thither,
out of gratitude for cures performed, contributed many things
to requite the labours of those who had borne him to this
church, as is commonly the case, a dispute arose about the
division of the money ; the Turonians claiming the whole,
because their patron had called the contributors together by
his miracles : the natives, on the other hand, alleging that
St. German was not unequal in merit, and was of equal

• This seems a mistake as far relates to Northumbria. The Saxon
Chronicle has " Northerna," and Florence of Worcester « Rex Norlh-
manicus," which at a first glance might easily be converted into Northum-
bria.

l2

116 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. fa. ii. c. 4.

kindness ; that both indeed had the same power, but that
the prerogative of their church preponderated. To solve
this knotty doubt, a leprous person was sought, and placed,
nearly at the last gasp, wasted to a skeleton, and already
dead, as it were, in a living carcass, between the bodies of
the two saints. All human watch was prohibited for the
whole night : the glory of Martin alone was vigilant ;
for the next day, the skin of the man on his side appeared
clear, while on that of German, it was discoloured with its
customary deformity. And, that they might not attribute
this miracle to chance, they turned the yet diseased side to
Martin. As soon as the morning began to dawn, the man
was found by the hastening attendants with his skin smooth,
perfectly cured, declaring the kind condescension of the
resident patron, who yielded to the honour of such a wel-
come stranger. Thus the Turonians, both at that time and
afterwards, safely filled their common purse by the assistance
of their patron, till a more favourable gale of peace restored
them to their former residence. For these marauders infest-
ing France for thirteen years, and being at last overcome by
the emperor Ernulph and the people of Brittany in many
encounters, retreated into England as a convenient receptacle
for their tyranny. During this space of time Alfred had re-
duced the whole island to his power, with the exception of
what the Danes possessed. The Angles had willingly sur-
rendered to his dominion, rejoicing that they had produced a
man capable of leading them to liberty. He granted Lon-
don, the chief city of the Mercian kingdom, to a nobleman
named Ethered, to hold in fealty, and gave him his daughter
Ethelfled in marriage. Ethered conducted himself with
equal valour and fidelity ; defended his trust with activity,
and kept the East Angles and Northumbrians, who were
fomenting rebellion against the king, within due bounds,
compelling them to give hostages. Of what infinite service
this was, the following emergency proved. After England
had rejoiced for thirteen years in the tranquillity of peace
and in the fertility of her soil, the northern pest of barba-
rians again returned. With them returned war and slaugh-
ter ; again arose conspiracies of the Northumbrians and East
Angles: but neither strangers nor natives experienced the
?ttme fort ine as in former years ; the one party, diminished

UTK

A.D. 893 } KING ALFRED S mSTITUTIpyS*

by foreign contests, were less alert in their invasions ; wEiIe
the other, now experienced in war and animated by the ex-
hortations of the king, were not only more ready to resist,
but also to attack. The king himself was, with his usual
activity, present in every action, ever daunting the invaders,
and at the same time inspiriting his subjects, with the signal
display of his courage. He would oppose himself singly to
the enemy ; and by his own personal exertions rally his de-
clining forces The very places are yet pointed out by the
inhabitants where he felt the vicissitudes of good and evil
fortune. It was necessary to contend with Alfred even after
he was overcome, after he was prostrate; insomuch that
when he might be supposed altogether vanquished, he would
escape like a slippery serpent, from the hand which held
him, glide from his lurking-place, and, with undiminished
courage, spring on his insulting enemies : he was insupport-
able after flight, and became more circumspect from the re-
collection of defeat, more bold from the thirst of vengeance.
His children by Elswitha, the daughter of earl Athelred,
were Ethelswitha, Edward who reigned after him; Ethel-
fled who was married to Ethered earl of the Mercians;
Ethelwerd, whom they celebrate as being extremely learned ;
Elfred and Ethelgiva, virgins. His health was so bad
that he was constantly disquieted either by the piles or some
disorder of the intestines. It is said, however, that he
entreated this from God, in his supplications, in order that,
by the admonition of pain, he might be less anxious after
earthly delights.

riet amid these circumstances the private life of the king
is to^be admired and celebrated with the highest praise.
For although, as some one has said, " Laws must give way
amid the strife of arms," yet he, amid the sound of trumpets
and the din of war, enacted statutes by which his people
might equally familiaris^\themselves to religious worship
and to military disciplines^ And since, from the example
of the barbarians, the natp^es themselves began to lust after
rapine, insomuch that there was no safe intercourse without
a military guard, he appointed centuries, which they call
"hundreds," and decennaries, that is to say, "tythings,** so
that every Englishman, living according to law, must be a
member of both. If any one was accused of a crime, he

118 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [s. n. c. 4.

was obliged immediately to produce persons from the hun-
dred and tything to become his surety ; and whosoever was
unable to find such surety, must dread the severity of the
laws. If any who was impleaded made his escape either
before or after he had found surety, all persons of the hun-
dred and tything paid a fine to the king. By this regulation
he diffused such peace throughout the country, that he or-
dered golden bracelets, which might mock the eager desires
of the passengers while no one durst take them away, to be
hung up on the public causeways, where the roads crossed
each other. Ever intent on almsgiving, he confirmed the
privileges of the churches, as appointed by his father, and
sent many presents over sea to Rome and to St. Thomas in
India. Sighelm, bishop of Sherborne, sent ambassador for
this purpose, penetrated successfully into India, a matter of
astonishment even in the present time. Returning thence,
he brought back many brilliant exotic gems and aromatic
juices in which that country abounds, and a present more
precious than the finest gold, part of our Saviour's cross,
sent by pope Marinus to the king. He erected monasteries
wherever he deemed it fitting; one in Athelney, where he
lay concealed, as has been above related, and there he made
John abbat, a native of Old Saxony ; another at Winchester,
which is called the New-minster, where he appointed Grim-
bald abbat, who, at his invitation, had been sent into Eng-
land by Fulco archbishop of Rheims, known to him, as they
say, by having kindly entertained him when a child on his
way to Rome. The cause of his being sent for was that by
his activity he might awaken the study of literature in Eng-
land, which was now slumbering and almost expiring. The
monastery of Shaftesbury also he filled with nuns, where he
made his daughter Ethelgiva abbess. From St. David's he
procured a person named Asser,* a man of skill in literature,
whom he made bishop of Sherborne. This man explained
the meaning of the works of Boethius, on the Consolation
of Philosophy, in clearer terms, and the king himself trans-
lated them into the English language. And since there was
no good scholar in his own kingdom, he sent for Werefrith

• Asser, the faithful friend and biographer of this great king. His Life
of Alfred, alike honourable to his master and himself, is free from flattery
It 15 given in one of the volumes of our Series,

A.D.893.1 STORY OF JOHX THE SCOT. 119

bishop of Worcester out of Mercia, who by command of the
king rendered into the English tongue the books of Gre-
gory's Dialogues. At this time Johannes Scotus is supposed
to have lived; a man of clear understanding and amazing
eloquence. He had long since, from the continued tumult
of war around him, retired into France to Charles the Bald,
at whose request he had translated the Hierarchia of Diony-
sius the Areopagite, word for word, out of the Greek into
Latin. He composed a book also, which he entitled m^i
(pugsuv fii^ig/Mov, or Of the Division of Nature,* extremely
useful in solving the perplexity of certain indispensable in-
quiries, if he be pardoned for some things in which he de-
viated from the opinions of the Latins, through too close
attention to the Greeks. In after time, allured by the muni-
ficence of Alfred, he came into England, and at our monas-
tery, as report says, was pierced with the iron styles of the
boys whom he was instructing, and was even looked upon as
a martyr ; which phrase I have not made use of to the dis-
paragement of his holy spirit, as though it were matter of
doubt, especially as his tomb on the left side of the altar,
and the verses of his epitaph, record his fame.f These,
though rugged and deficient in the polish of our days, are
not so uncouth for ancient times :

" Here lies a saint, the sophist John, whose days
On earth were grac'd with deepest learning's praise :
Deem'd meet at last by martyrdom to gain
Christ's kingdom, where the saints for ever reign."

Confiding in these auxiliaries, the king gave his whole
soul to the cultivation of the liberal arts, insomuch that no
Englishman was quicker in comprehending, or more elegant
in translating. This was the more remarkable, because until
twelve years of age he absolutely knew nothing of literature. J

• It has been printed by Gale, Oxon, 1681.

+ John the Scot is generally supposed to have died in France before
A.D. 877, as the letter of Anastasius (Usher's Sylloge, Ep. 24,) addressed
to Charles the Bald, who died in that year, seems strongly to imply that he
was not then living. There is, however, no positive notice of the time of
his death. The story indeed has so much the air of one told in Asser of
John abbat of Athelney, that one would almost suspect it was formed from
it : especially as Malmesbury seems to speak in a very hesitating manner
on the subject. V. Asser, a Wise, p. 62.

$ Asser says he first began his literary education, Nov. 11, 887.

I

120 WILLIAM Caf MALMESBURY. ro ij c 4-

At that time, lured by a kind mother, who under the mask of
sunusement promised that he should have a little book which
she held in her hand for a present if he would learn it
luickJy, he entered upon learning in sport indeed at first,
but afterwards drank of the stream with unquenchable avid-
ity. He translated into English the greater part of the
Roman authors, bringing off the noblest spoil of foreign
intercourse for the use of his subjects ; of which the chief
books were Orosius, Grregory's Pastoral, Bede's History of
the Angles, Boethius Of the Consolation of Philosophy, his
own book, which he called in his vernacular tongue " Hand-
boc," that is, a manual.* Moreover he infused a great re-
gard for literature into his countrymen, stimulating them
both with rewards and punishments, allowing no ignorant
person to aspire to any dignity in the court. He died just
as he had begun a translation of the Psalms. In the pro-
logue to " The Pastoral " he observes, " that he was incited
to translate these books into English because the churches
which had formerly contained numerous libraries had, to-
gether with their books, been burnt by the Danes." And
again, "that the pursuit of literature had gone to decay
almost over the whole island, because each person was more
occupied in the preservation of his life than in the perusal
of books; wherefore he so far consulted the good of his
countrymen, that they might now hastily view what here-
after, if peace should ever return, they might thoroughly
comprehend in the Latin language." Again, " That he de-
signed to transmit this book, transcribed by his order, to
every see, with a golden style in which was a mancus of
gold; that there was nothing of his own opinions inseisted
in this or his other translations, but that everything was
derived from those celebrated men Plegmundf archbishop
of Canterbury, Asser the bishop, Grimbald and John the
priests." ^^ut, in short, I may thus briefly elucidate his

* Alfred's Manual, from the description which Asser gived of it, appears
to have contained psalms, prayers, texts of Scripture, etc. : Malmesbury,
however, in his Lives of the Bishops, quotes anecdotes of Aldhelm from
it also.

f Plegmund is said to have written part of the Saxon Chronicle ; Asser
was archbishop of St. David's, and biographer of Alfred ; Grimbhlc,
abbat of St. On?ers; and John of Corvey, a German Saxon, whom Alfred
invited into Englaiid.

4.D. 893.] KING Alfred's death.

g

whole life : he st divided the twenty-four hours of the day
and night as to employ eight of them in writing, in reading,
and in prayer, eight in the refreshment of his body, and
eight in dispatching the business of the realm. There was
in his chapel a candle consisting of twenty-four divisions,
and an attendant, whose peculiar province it was to ad-
monish the king of his several duties by its consumption.
One half of all revenues, provided they were justly acquired,
he gave to his* monasteries, all his other income he divided
into two equal parts, the first was again subdivided into
three, of which the first was given to the servants of his
court, the second to artificers whom he constantly employed
in the erection of new edifices, in a manner surprising and
hitherto unknown to the English, the third he gave to
strangers. The second part of the revenue was divided in
such a mode that the first portion should be given to the
poor of his kingdom, the second to the monasteries, the
third to scholars,! the fourth to foreign churches. He was
a strict inquirer into the sentences passed by his magistrates,
and a severe corrector of such as were unjust. He had one
unusual and unheard of custom, which was, that he always
carried in his bosom a book in which the daily order of the
Psalms was contained, for the purpose of carefully perusing
it, if at any time he had leisure. In this way he passed his
life, much respected by neighbouring princes, and gave his
daughter Ethelswitha in marriage to Baldwin earl of Flan-
ders, by whom he had Arnulf and Ethelwulf ; the former
received from his father the county of Boulogne, !Krom the
other at this day are descended the earls of Flandepi^

Alfred, paying the debt of nature, was buried at Winches-
ter, in the monastery which he had founded ; to build the
offices of which Edward, his son, purchased a sufficient space
of ground from the bishop and canons, giving, for every foot,
a mancus of gold of the statute weight. The endurance of

* Asser says he devoted one half of his income " to God ;*' which part
was afterwards subdivided for the poor, for the two monasteries he had
founded, for the school he had established, for other monasteries and
churches, domestic and foreign.

f This proportion was for both teachers and pupils in the school he
founded for the young nobility. — Lappenbergy vol. i. p. 340.

X Matilda, qieen of William the First, was daughter of Baldwin «wl of

Flanders, the fifth in descent from Ethelswitha. See note, p. 110,

I
\

t
1

122 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUEr. [b. ii. c. ff.

the king was astonishing, in suffering such a sum to be
extorted from him ; but he did not choose to offer a sacrifice
to God from the robbery of the poor. These two churches
were so contiguous, that, when singing, they heard each
others' voices ; on this and other accounts an unhappy
jealousy was daily stirring up causes of dissension, which
produced frequent injuries on either side. For this reason
that monastery was lately removed out of the city, and
became a more healthy, as well as a more conspicuous, resi-
dence. They report that Alfred was first buried in the
cathedral, because his monastery was unfinished, but that
afterwards, on account of the folly of the canons, who as-
serted that the royal spirit, resuming its carcass, wandered
nightly through the buildings, Edward, his son and suc-
cessor, removed the remains of his father, and gave them a
quiet resting-place in the new minster. * These and similar
superstitions, such as that the dead body of a wicked man
runs about, after death, by the agency of the devil, the Eng-
lish hold with almost inbred credulity, f borrowing them
from the heathens, according to the expression of Virgil,

" Forms sucli as flit, they say, when life is gone."}:

CHAP. V.

Of Edward the son of Alfred, [a.d. 901— 924.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation, 901, Edward, the son
of Alfred, succeeded to the government, and held it twenty
three years : he was much inferior to his father in literature,
but greatly excelled in extent of power. For Alfred, indeed,
united the two kingdoms of the Mercian and West Saxons,
holding that of the Mercians only nominally, as he had
assigned it to prince Ethelred : but at his death Edward
first brought the Mercians altogether under his power, next,
the West§ and East Angles, and Northumbrians, who had

• On its removal called Hyde Abbey,

+ The popular notion was, that the devil re-animated the corpse, and
played a variety of pranks by its agency ; and that the only remedy was to
dig up and consume the body with fire. See Will. Neubrig v. 22.

X Virg. ^neid, X. 641.

§ By West-Angles he probably intends the people of Essex or East-
Saxons. See Florence of Worcester

*-tt. 901.1 EDWARD. 123

becDine one nation with the Danes ; the Scots, wlio inhabit
the northern part of the island ; and all the Britons, whom
we call Welsh, after perpetual battles, in which he was
always successful. He devised a mode of frustrating the
incursions of the Danes ; for he repaired many ancient cities,
or built new ones, in places calculated for his purpose, and
filled them with a military force, to protect the inhabitants
and repel the enemy. Nor was his design unsuccessful ; for
the inhabitants became so extremely valorous in these con-
tests, that if they heard of an enemy approaching, they
rushed out to give them battle, even without consulting the
king or his generals, and constantly surpassed them, both in
number and in warlike skill. Thus the enemy became an
object of contem.pt to the soldiery and of derision to the
king. At last some fresh assailants, who had come over
under the command of Ethelwald, the son of the king's
uncle, were all, together with himself, cut off to a man :
those before, settled in the country, being either destroyed
or spared under the denomination of Angles. Ethelwalt.
indeed had attempted many things in the earlier days of this
king ; and, disdaining subjection to him, declared himsel
his inferior neither in birth nor valour ; but being driven
into exile by the nobility, who had sworn allegiance tc
Edward, he brought over the pirates ; with whom, meeting
his death, as I have related, he gave proof of the folly ot
resisting those who are our superiors in power. Although
Edward may be deservedly praised for these transactions,
yet, in my opinion, the palm should be more especially given
to his father, who certainly laid the foundation of this exten";
of dominion. And here indeed Ethelfled, sister of thf
king and relict of Ethered, ought not to be forgotten, as she
was a powerful accession to his party, the delight of his sub-
jects, the dread of his enemies, a woman of an enlarged soul,
who, from the difficulty experienced in her first labour, ever
after refused the embraces of her husband ; protesting that
it was unbecoming the daughter of a king to give way to a
delight which, after a time, produced such painful conse-
quences. This spirited heroine assisted her brother greatly
with her advice, was of equal service in building cities, nor
could you easily discern, whether it was more owing to for-
tune or her own exertions, that a woi.ian should be able to

124 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [B-n. c.5.

protect men at home, and to intimidate them abroad. She
died five years before her brother, and was buried in the
monastery of St. Peter's, at G-loucester; which, in conjunc-
tion with her husband, Ethered, she had erected with great
solicitude. Thither too she had transferred the bones of St.
Oswald, the king, from Bardney ; but this monastery being
destroyed in succeeding time by the Danes, Aldred, arch-
bishop of York, founded another, which is now the chief in
that city.

As the king had many daughters, he gave Edgiva to
Charles, king of France, the son of Lewis the Stammerer,
son of Charles the Bald, whose daughter, as I have repeat-
edly observed, Ethelwulf had married on his return from
Rome ; and, as the opportunity has now presented itself, the
candid reader will not think it irrelevant, if I state the
names of his wives and children. By Egwina, an illustrious
lady, he had Athelstan, his first-born, and a daughter, whose
name I cannot particularise, but her brother gave her in
marriage to Sihtric, king of the Northumbrians. The second
son of Edward was Ethelward, by Elfleda, daughter of earl
Etheline; deeply versed in literature, much resembling his
grandfather Alfred in features and disposition, but who de-
parted, by an early death, soon after his father. By the
same wife he had Edwin, of whose fate what the received
opinion is I shall hereafter describe, not with confidence, but
doubtingly. By her too he had six daughters; Edfledti,
Edgiva, Ethelhilda, Ethilda, Edgitha, Elgifa: the first and
third vowing celibacy to God, renounced the pleasure ot
earthly nuptials ; Edfleda in a religious, and Ethelhilda in a
lay habit : they both lie buried near their mother, at Win-
chester. Her father gave Edgiva, as I have mentioned, to
king Charles,* and her brother, Athelstan, gave Ethilda to
Hugh if this same brother also sent Edgitha and Elgifa to
Henry, j emperor of Germany, the second of whom he gave
to his son Otho, the other to a certain duke, near the Alps.

• Charles the Simple had one son by her, Louis II., surnamed
D'Outremer.

t Surnamed the Great: father of Hugh Capet: she had no issue by him.

X Henry, surnamed the Fowler, father of Otho the Great. She had a
son and daughter by him. One of Edward's daughters, called Adela, is
sjiid to have been married to Ebles, earl of Poitiere, by whom she had two"
sons. See L'Art de Verifier les Dates, ii. 312.

AJ). M2: EDWARD. 125

Again ; by his third wife, named Edgiva, he had two sons,
Edmund and Edred, each of whom reigned after Athelstan :
two daughters, Eadburga, and Edgiva ; Eadburga, a virgin,
dedicated to Christ, lies buried at Winchester; Edgiva, a
lady of incomparable beauty, was united, by her brother
Athelstan, to Lewis, prince of Aquitaine. * Edward had
brought up his daughters in such wise, that in childhood
they gave their whole attention to literature, and afterguards
employed themselves in the labours of the distaff and the
needle, that thus they might chastely pass their virgin age.
His sons were so educated, as, first, to have the completest
benefit of learning, that afterwards they might succeed to
govern the state, not like rustics, but philosophers.

Charles, the son-in-law of Edward, constrained thereto by
Rollo, through a succession of calamities, conceded to him
that part of Gaul which at present is called Normandy. It
would be tedious to relate for how many years, and with
what audacity, the Normans disquieted every place from the
British ocean, as I have said, to the Tuscan sea-* First
Hasten, and then EoUo ; who, born of noble lineage among
the Norwegians, though obsolete from its extreme antiquity,
was banished, by the king's command, from his own country,
and brought over with him multitudes, who were in danger,
either from debt or consciousness of guilt, and whom he had
allured by great expectations of advantage. Betaking him-
self therefore to piracy, after his cruelty had raged on
every side at pleasure, he experienced a check at Chartres.
For the townspeople, relying neither on arms nor fortifica-
tions, piously implored the assistance of the blessed Virgin
Mary. The shift too of the virgin, which Charles the Bald
had brought with other relics from Constantinople, they
displayed to the winds on the ramparts, thronged by -the
garrison, after the fashion of a banner. The enemy on see-
ing it began to laugh, and to direct their arrows at it. This,
however, was not done with impunity; for presently their
eyes became dim, and they could neither retreat nor ad-
vance. The townsmen, with joy perceiving this, indulged

• This seems to have been Lewis the Blind, king of Aries : and if so,
she must have been one of the elder daughters, as he appears not to have
survived a.d. 930. She had, at least, one son by him, Charles Constantine;
earl of Vienne. See L'Art de Verifier les Dates, ii. 429.

126 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUBT. [». tt A

themselves in a plentiful slaughter of them, as far as fortune
permitted. Rollo, however, whom God reserved for tLe
true faith, escaped, and soon after gained Rouen and the
neighbouring cities by force of arms, in the year of our Lord
876, and one year before the death of Charles the Bald,
whose grandson Lewis, as is before mentioned, vanquished
the Normans, but did not expel them: but Charles, the
brother of that Lewis, grandson of Charles the Bald, by his
son Lewis, as I have said above, repeatedly experiencing,
from unsuccessful conflicts, that fortune gave him nothing
which she took from others, resolved, after consulting his
nobility, that it was advisable to make a show of royal
munificence, when he was unable to repel injury; and, in a
friendly manner, sent for Rollo. He was at this time far
advanced in years ; and, conse(juently, easily inclined to
pacific measures. It was therefore determined by treaty,
that he should be baptized, and hold that country of the
king as his lord. The inbred and untameable ferocity of the
man may well be imagined, for, on receiving this gift, as the
by standers suggested to him, that he ought to kiss the foot
of his benefactor, disdaining to kneel down, he seized the
king's foot and dragged it to his mouth as he stood erect
The king falling on his back, the Normans began to laugh,
and the Franks to be indignant; but Rollo apologiz;ed for
his shameful conduct, by saying that it was the custom of
his country. Thus the afiair being settled, Rollo returned
to Rouen, and there died.

The son of this Charles was Lewis : he being challenged
by one Isembard, that had turned pagan, and renounced his
faith, called upon his nobility for their assistance : they not
even deigned an answer ; when one Hugh, son of Robert,
earl of Mont Didier, a youth of no great celebrity at the
time, voluntarily entered the lists for his lord and killed the
challenger. Lewis, with his whole army pursuing to Pon-
thieu, gained there a glorious triumph ; either destroying or
putting to flight all the barbarians whom Isembard had
brought with him. But not long after, weakened by ex-
treme sickness, the consequence of this laborious expedition,
he appointed this Hugh, a young man of noted faith and
courage, heir to the kingdom. Thus the lineage of Charles
the Great ceased with him, because either his wife was bar-

A.D. 912.] POPE FORMOSUS. ' 127

ren, or else did not live long enough to have issue. Hugh
married one of the daughters of Edward,* and begot Robert ;
Robert begot Henry ; Henry, Philip ; and Philip, Lewis,
who now reigns in France. But to return to our Edward :
I think it will be pleasing to relate what in his time pope
Formosus commanded to be done with respect to filling up
the bishoprics, which I shall insert in the very words I found

it.t

" In the year of our Lord's nativity 904, pope Formosus
sent letters into England, by which he denounced exconmiu-
nication and malediction to king Edward and all his subjects,
instead of the benediction which St. Gregory had given to
the English nation from the seat of St. Peter, because for
seven whole years the entire district of the Gewissae, that is,
of the West- Saxons, had been destitute of bishops. On hear-
ing this, king Edward assembled a council of the senators of
the English, over which presided Plegmund, archbishop of
Canterbury, interpreting carefully the words of the apostolic
legation. Then the king and the bishops chose for them-
selves and their followers a salutary council, and, according
to our Saviour's words, ' The harvest truly is plenteous, but
the labourers are few,' J they elected and appointed one bi-
shop to every province of the Gewissag, and that district which
two formerly possessed they divided into five. The council

• This is a mistake : Hugh is confounded with his father, who married
Edward's daughter. There is no notice of this exploit of Hugh's in Bou-
quet, though Isembard is mentioned as the nephew of Lewis, who, being
unjustly banished, returns accompanied by a large body of Danes and Nor-
mans, but is defeated. Bouquet, Recueil, &c. tom. ix. 58. Lewis, how-
ever, left issue, and it was on the death of his grandson Lewis, that Hugh
Capet became king of France.

f This story of pope Formosus and the seven bishops is to be found
verbatim in a MS. (Bodley, 579) which was given to the cathedral of Exe-
ter by bishop Leofric, who died a.d. 1073. Its difficulties therefore are
not to be imputed to our author. But though it may not be easy to assign
a rational motive for the invention of such an instrument, it is a decided
forgery ; and all the ecclesiastical writers, from Baronius to Wilkins, [See
Concilia, i. p. 201,] have utterly failed in their conjectural attempts to up-
hold it : even the temperate, the acute, the learned Henry Wharton [An-
glia Sacra, i. 554, 5] , who rejects decidedly the epistle, gives but an un-
satisfactory solution of the seven vacant sees. Its repugnancies will be
seen at a glance, when it is recollected, that Formosus died a.d. 896 ;
Edward did not reign till a.d. 901 j and Frithstan did not become bishop
of Winchester before a.d. 910.

::: Matt. ix. 37.

128 WILLIAM OF 3IALMESBURT. Cb. ii. c. 6.

being dissolved, the archbishop went to Rome with splendid
presents, appeased the pope with much humility, and related
the king's ordinance, which gave the pontiff great satisfac-
tion. Returning home, in one day he ordained in the city of
Canterbury seven bishops to seven churches : — Frithstan to
the church of Winchester ; Athelstan to Cornwall ; Werstan
to Sherborne ; Athelelm to Wells ; Aidulf to Crediton in
Devonshire : also to other provinces he appointed two bi-
shops ; to the South- Saxons, Bernegus, a very proper person r
and to the Mercians, Cenulph, whose see was at Dorchester,
in Oxfordshire. All this the pope established, in such wise,
that he who should invalidate this decree should be damned
everlastingly."

Edward, going the way of all flesh, rested in the same mo-
nastery with his father, which he had augmented with con-
siderable revenues, and in which he had buried his brother
Ethelward four years before.

CHAP. VI.

Of Athelstan, the son of Edward, [a.d. 924—940.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 924, Athelstan, the son
of Edward, began to reign, and held the sovereignty sixteen
years. His brother, Ethelward, dying a few days after his
father, had been buried with him at Winchester. At this
place, therefore, Athelstan, being elected king by the unani-
\mous consent of the nobility, he was crowned at a royal
town, which is called Kingston ; though one Elfred, whose
death we shall hereafter relate in the words of the king, with
his factious party, as sedition never wants adherents, at-
tempted to prevent it. The ground of his opposition, as
they affirm, was, that Athelstan was born of a concubine.
But having nothing ignoble in him, except this stain, if after
all it be true, he cast all his predecessors into the shade by
his piety, as well as the glory of all their triumphs, by the
splendour of his own. So much more excellent is it to have
that for which we are renowned inherent, than derived from
our ancestors ; because the former is exclusively our own,
>r the latter is imputable to others. I forbear relating how
' many new and magnificent monasteries he founded ; but I
will not conceal that there was scarcely an old one in Eng-

A.D. 927.1 AlHELSTAN. 129

land which he did not embellish, either with buildings^ or
ornaments, or books, or possessions. Thus he ennobled the
new ones expressly, but the old, as though they were only
casual objects of his kindness. With Sihtric, king of the
Northumbrians, who married, as I have before said, one of
his sisters, he made a lasting covenant ; he dying after a
year, Athelstan took that province under his own govern-
ment, expelling one Aldulph, who resisted him. And as a
aoblajgaind, when once roused, aspires to greater things, he
compelled Jothwel, king of all the Welsh, and Constantine,
king of the Scots, to quit their kingdoms ; but not long after,
moved with commiseration, he restored them to their origi-
nal state, that they might reign under him, saying, " it was
more glorious to make than to be a king." His last contest
was with Anlaf, the son of Sihtric, who, with the before-
named Constantine, again in a state of rebellion, had entered
his territories under the hope of gaining the kingdom.
Athelstan purposely retreating, that he might derive greater
honour from vanquishing his furious assailants, this bold
youth, meditating unlawful conquests, had now proceeded
far into England, when he was opposed at Bruneford* by the
most experienced generals, and most valiant forces. Per-
ceiving, at length, what danger hung over him, he assumed
the character of a spy. Laying aside his royal ensigns, and
taking a harp in his hand,, he proceeded to our king's tent :
singing before the entrance, and at times touching the trem-
bling strings in harmonious cadence, he was readily admitted,
professing himself a minstrel, who procured his daily suste-
nance by such employment. Here he entertained the king
and his companions for some time with his musical perform-
ance, carefully examining everything while occupied in sing-
ing. When satiety of eating had put an end to their sensual
enjoyments, and the business of war was resumed among the
nobles, he was ordered to depart, and received the recom-
pence of his song ; but disdaining to take it away, he hid it
beneath him in the earth. This circumstance was remarked
by a person, who had formerly served under him, and im-
mediately related it to Athelstan. The king, blaming him

• In the Saxon Chronicle it is called Brumby. [See Chronicles of the
Ang]o-Saxons, in Bohn's Antiquarian Library, pp. 376, 377.] Its site is
not exactly known, but it was probably not far from the Humber.

©

WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT. [B.'iC;^

extremely for not having detected hk enemy as he stood b« •
fore them, received this answer : "t£he same oath, which I
have lately sworn to you, O king, I formerly made to An-
laf ; and had you seen me violate it towards himx you might
have expected similar perfidy towards yourself^ but con-
descend to listen to the advice of your servant, vmich is, that
you should remove your tent hence, and remaining in another
place till the residue of the army come up, you will destroy
your ferocious enemy by a moderate delay." Approving
this admonition, he removed to another place. Anlaf ad-
vancing, well prepared, at night, put to death, together with
the whole of his followers, a certain bishop,* who had joined
the army only the evening before, and, ignorant of what had
passed, had pitched his tent there on account of the level
turf. Proceeding farther, he found the king himself equally
unprepared ; who, little expecting his enemy capable of such
an attack, had indulged in profound repose. But, when
roused from his sleep by the excessive tumult, and urging
his people, as much as the darkness of the night would per-
mit, to the conflict, his sword fell by chance from the sheath ;
upon which, while all things were filled with dread and blind
confusion, he invoked the protection of God and of St. Aid-
helm, who was distantly related to him ; and replacing his
hand upon the scabbard, he there found a sword, which is

Jikept to this day, on account of the miracle, in the treasury
of the kings. Moreover, it is, as they say, chased in one part,
but can never be inlaid either with gold or silver. Confiding
in this divine present, and at the same time, as it began to
dawn, attacking the Norwegian, he continued the battle
unwearied through the day, and put him to flight with his
whole army. There fell Constantine, king of the Scots, a
man of treacherous energy and vigorous old age ; five other
kings, twelve earls, and almost the whole assemblage of bar-
barians. The few who escaped were preserved to embrace
the faith of Christ.

Concerning this king a strong persuasion is prevalent
among the English, that one more just or learned never go-

I rerned the kingdom. That he was versed in literature, I

♦ Said to be Werstan, bishop of Sherborne. See Mahnesbvuy's Gesta
P^/ntificum ; or, Lives of the Bishops, to be hereafter translated and pub-
lislied in this series.

Aa>.924.J ATHELSTAN. 131

discovered a few days since, in a certain old volume, wherein .-
the writer struggles with the difficulty of the task, unable to
express his meaning as he wished. Indeed I would subjoin
his words for brevity's sake, were they not extravagant be-
yond beUef in the praises of the king, and just in that style
of writing which Cicero, the prince of Roman eloquence,
in his book on Rhetoric, denominates " bombast." The cus-
tom of that time excuses the diction, and the affection for
Athelstan, who was yet living, gave countenance to the ex-
cess of praise. I shall subjoin, therefore, in familiar lan-
guage, some few circumstances which may tend to augment
his reputation.

King Edward, after many noble exploits, both in war and
peace, a few days before his death subdued the contumacy of
the city of Chester, which was rebelling in confederacy with
the Britons ; and placing a garrison there, he fell sick and
died at Faringdon, and was buried, as I before related, at
Winchester. Athelstan, as his father had commanded in his
will, was then hailed king, recommended by his years, — for
he was now thirty, — and the maturity of his wisdom. For
even his grandfather Alfred, seeing and embracing him affec-
tionately when he was a boy of astonishing beauty andi
graceful manners, had most devoutly prayed that his govern-
ment might be prosperous: indeed, he had made him a
knight* unusually early, giving him a scarlet cloak, a belt
studded with diamonds, and a Saxon sword with a golden

_^,scabbard. Next he had provided that he should be educated
in the court of Ethelfled his daughter, and of his son-in-
law Ethered ; so that, having been brought up in expecta-
tion of succeeding to the kingdom, by the tender care of his
aunt and of this celebrated prince, he repressed and destroyed
all fenvy by the lustre of his good qualities ; and, after the

^ d^th of his father, and decease of his brother, he was

crowned at Kingston. Hence, to celebrate such splendid
events, and the joy of that illustrious day, the poet justly
exclaims :

* This passage is thought to prove the existence of knights as a distinct
order among the Saxons ; and, coupled with the case of Hereward, it has
very much that air. See Mr. Turner's Anglo-Saxons, 4, 171, et inf. But
perhaps in the present instance, it may amount to nothing more than
bestowing hia first arms on him. Lewis the Debonnaire leceived his arms,
•* ense accinctus est," at thirteen years old. — Duchesne, t. ii. 289.

f2

132 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. :b,i:.c«.

Of royal race a noble stem
Hath chased oiir darkness like a gem.
Great Athelstan, his country's pride,
Whose virtue never turns aside ;
Sent by his father to the schools.
Patient, he bore their rigid rules,
And drinking deep of science mild,
^Passed his first years unlike a child.
Next clothed in youth's bewitching chann^
Studied the harsher lore of arms,
Which soon confessed his knowledge keen.
As after in the sovereign seen.
Soon as his father, good and great,
Yielded, though ever famed, to fate,
The youth was called the realm to guide.
And, hke his parent, well preside.
The nobles meet, the crown present,
On rebels, prelates curses vent ;
The people light the festive fires.
And show by turns their kind desires.
Their deeds their loyalty declare,
Though hopes and fears their bosoms share.
With festive treat the court abounds ;
Foams the brisk wine, the hall resounds :
The pages run, the servants haste, ,
And food and verse regale the taste.
The minstrels sing, the guests commend,
Whilst all in praise to Christ contend.
The king with pleasure all things sees.
And all his kind attentions please.

The solemnity of the consecration being finished, Athel-
stan, that he might not deceive the expectation of his subjects,
and fall below their opinion, subdued the whole of England,

' except Northumbria, by the single terror of his name. One
Sihtric, a relation of that Gothrun who is mentioned in the

I history of Alfred, presided over this people, a barbarian both
by race and disposition, who, though he ridiculed the power
of preceding kings, humbly solicited afiinity with Athelstan,

• sending messengers expressly for the purpose ; and himself
shortly following confirmed the proposals of the ambassadors.
In consequence, honoured by a union with his sister, and
by various presents, he laid the basis of a perpetual treaty.
But, as I have before observed, dying at the end of a year,
he afforded Athelstan an opportunity for uniting Northum-
bria, which belonged to him both by ancient right and recent
afiinity, to his sovereignty. Anlaf, the son of Sihtric, then

i.D. 926.]

ATHELSTAN. 13^

fled into Ireland, and his brother Guthferth into Scotland.
Messengers from the king immediately followed to Constan-
tine, king of the Scots, and Eugenius, king of the Cumbrians,
claiming the fugitive under a threat of war. The barbarians
had no idea of resistance, but without delay coming to a
place called Dacor, they surrendered themselves and their
kingdoms to the sovereign of England. Out of regard to
this treaty, the king himself stood for the son of Constantine,
who was ordered to be baptized, at the sacred font. Guth-
ferth, however, amid the preparations for the journey, escaped
by flight with one Turfrid, a leader of the opposite party ;
and afterwards laying siege to York, where he could succeed
in bringing the townsmen to surrender neither by entreaties
nor by threats, he departed. Not long after, being both
shut up in a castle, they eluded the vigilance of the guards,
and escaped. Turfrid, losing his life quickly after by ship-
wreck, became a prey to fishes. Guthferth, suffering ex-
tremely both by sea and land, at last came a suppliant to
court. Being amicably received by the king, and sumptuous-
ly entertained for four days, he resought his ships ; an
incorrigible pirate, and accustomed to live in the water like
a fish. In the meantime Athelstan levelled with the ground
the castle which the Danes had formerly fortified in York,
that there might be no place for disloyalty to shelter in ;k
^and the booty which had been found there, which was very'
considerable, he generously divided, man by man, to the
whole army. For he had prescribed himself this rule of
conduct, never to hoard up riches ; but liberally to expend
all his acquisition either on monasteries or on his faithful
followers. On these, during the whole of his life, he ex-
pended his paternal treasures, as well as the produce of his
victories. /* To the clergy he was humble and affable ; to the
laity mild and pleasant ; to the nobility rather reserved, from""
respect to his dignity ; to the lower classes, lajdng aside the
stateliness of power, he was kind and condescending. Hef
was, as we have heard, of becoming stature, thin in person,
his hair flaxen, as I have seen by his remains, and beautifully
wreathed with golden threads. Extremely beloved by his
subjects from admiration of his fortitude and humility, he
was terrible to those who rebelled against him, through his
invincible courage. He compelled the rulers of the northern

134 WILLIAM Or MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 6.

Welsh, that is, of the North Britons, to meet him at the city
of Hereford, and after some opposition to surrender to his
power. So that he actually brought to pass what no king
before him had even presumed to think of : which was, that
they should pay annually by way of tribute, twenty pounds
of gold, three hundred of silver, twenty-five thousand oxen,
besides as many dogs as he might choose, which from their
sagacious scent could discover the retreats and hiding places
of wild beasts ; and birds, trained to make prey of others in
the air. Departing thence, he turned towards the Western
Britons, who are called the Cornwallish, because, situated in
the west of Britain, they are opposite to the extremity of
Gaul.* Fiercely attacking, he obliged them to retreat from
Exeter, which, till that time, they had inhabited with equal
privileges with the Angles, fixing the boundary of their
province on the other side of the river Tamar, as he had ap-
pointed the river Wye to the North Britons. This city then,
rwhich he had cleansed by purging it of its contaminated
tace, he fortified with towers and surrounded with a wall of
squared stone. And, though the barren and unfruitful soil
can scarcely produce indifferent oats, and frequently only the
empty husk without the grain, yet, owing to the magnificence
of the city, the opulence of its inhabitants, and the constant
resort of strangers, every kind of merchandise is there so
abundant that nothing is wanting which can conduce to hu-
man comfort. Many noble traces of him are to be seen in
that city, as well as in the neighbouring district, which will
^fbe better described by the conversation of the natives, than
by my narrative.

On this account all Europe resounded with his praises,
and extolled his valour to the skies : foreign princes with
justice esteemed themselves happy if they could purchase his
friendship either by affinity or by presents. Harold king of
pS^orway sent him a ship with golden beak and a purple sail,
furnished within with a compacted fence of gilded shields.
The names of the persons sent with it, were Helgrim and
Off'rid : who, being received with princely magnificence in
the city of York, were amply compensated, by rich presents,
for the labour of their journey. Henry the First, for there
were many of the name, the son of Conrad, king of the
* Cornu Galliae, a fanciful etymology.

A ». 926.] ATHELSTAN. 1S5

Teutonians and emperor of the Romans, demanded his sister,
as I have before related, for his son Otho ; passing over so
many neighbouring kings, but contemplating from a distance
Athelstan's noble descent, and greatness of mind. So com-
pletely indeed had these two qualities taken up their abode
with him, that none could be more noble or illustrious in
descent ; none more bold or prompt in disposition. Maturely
considering that he had four sisters, who were all equally
beautiful, except only as their ages made a difference, he
sent two to the emperor at his request ; and how he disposed
of them in marriage has already been related : Lewis prince
of Aquitania, a descendant of Charles the Great, obtained
the third in wedlock : the fourth, in whom the whole essence
of beauty had centred, which the others only possessed in
part, was demanded from her brother by Hugh king of the
Franks.* The chief of this embassy was Adulph, son of
Baldwin earl of Flanders by Ethelswitha daughter of king
Edward, f When he had declared the request of the suitor
in an assembly of the nobility at Abingdon, he produced such
liberal presents as might gratify the most boundless avarice :
perfumes such as never had been seen in England before :
jewels, but more especially emeralds, the greenness of which,
reflected by the sun, illumined the countenances of the
bystanders with agreeable light : many fleet horses with
their trappings, and, as Virgil says, " Champing their golden
bits:" an alabaster vase so exquisitely chased, that, the corn-
fields really seemed to wave, the vines to bud, the figures of
men actually to move, and so clear and polished, that it
reflected the features like a mirror ; the sword of Constantine
the Great, on which the name of its original possessor was
read in golden letters ; on the pommel, upon thick plates of
gold, might be seen fixed an iron spike, one of the four
which the Jewish faction prepared for the crucifixion of our
Lord : the spear of Charles the Great, which whenever that
invincible emperor hurled in his expeditions against the
Saracens, he always came off conqueror ; it was reported to
be the same, which, driven into the side of our Saviour by

♦ Improperly called king : it was Hugh the Great, father of Hugh
Capet. Malmesbury was probably deceived by a blunder of Ingulfs.
f This is a mistake, she was daughter of Alfred. See chap. iv. p. 117.

136 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUBY. [b. ii. c. a

the hand of the centurion,* opened, by that precious wound,
the joys of paradise to wretched mortals : the banner of the
most blessed martyr Maurice, chief of the Theban legion ; f
with which the same king, in the Spanish war, used to break
through the battaUons of the enemy however fierce and
wedged together, and put them to flight : a diadem, precious
from its quantity of gold, but more so for its jewels, the
splendour of which threw the sparks of light so strongly on
the beholders, that the more stedfastly any person en-
deavoured to gaze, so much the more he was dazzled,
and compelled to avert his eyes ; part of the holy and
adorable cross enclosed in crystal ; where the eye, piercing
through the substance of the stone, might discern the colour
and size of the wood ; a small portion of the crown of thorns,
enclosed in a similar manner, which, in derision of his
government, the madness of the soldiers placed on Christ's
sacred head. The king, delighted with such great and
exquisite presents, made an equal return of good oflSces ;
and gratified the soul of the longing suitor by a union with
his sister. With some of these presents he enriched
succeeding kings : but to Malmesbury he gave part of the
cross and crown ; by the support of which, I believe, that
vplace even now flourishes, though it has suffered so many
■^;:::Ship wrecks of its liberty, so many attacks of its enemies. J
In this place he ordered Elwin and Ethelwin, the sons of his
uncle Ethelward, whom he had lost in the battle against
Anlaf, to be honourably buried, expressing his design of
resting here himself : of which battle it is now proper time
to give the account of that poet, from whom I have taken all
these transactions.

His subjects governing with justest sway.
Tyrants o'eraw'd, twelve years had pass'd away,

• The legend of St. Longinus makes the centurion mentioned in the
Gospel, the person who pierced the side of our Lord ; with many other
fabulous additions. See Jac. a Voragine, Legenda Sanctorum.

+ The Theban legion refusing, in the Diocletian persecution, to bring the
Christians to execution, were ordered to be decimated ; and on their
persisting in the same resolution at the instigation of Maurice, the com-
mander of the legion, they were, together with him, put to cruel deaths.
v. Acta Sanctor. 22 Sept.

X He has, apparently, the oppressions of bishop Roge constantly before
Yaau

A.D. 937.] DEATH OP ELFRED. 1 37

When Europe's noxious pestilence stalk'd forth.

And poured the barbarous legions from the north*

The pirate Anlaf now the briny surge

Forsakes, while deeds of desperation urge.

Her king consenting, Scotia's land receives

The frantic madman, and his host of thieves : ;

Now flush'd with insolence they shout and boast,

And drive the harmless natives from the coast.

Thus, while the king, secure in youthful pride.

Bade the soft hours in gentle pleasures glide.

Though erst he stemmed the battle's fiirious tide,

With ceaseless plunder sped the daring horde.

And wasted districts with their fire and sword.

The verdant crops lay withering on the fields

The glebe no promise to the rustic yields.

Immense the numbers of barbarian force,

Countless the squadrons both of foot and horse.

At length fame's rueful moan alarmed the king.

And bade him shun this ignominious sting,

That arms like his to ruffian bands should bend :

'Tis done : delays and hesitations end.

High in the air the threatening banners fly,

And call his eager troops to victory,

His hardy force, a himdred thousand strong

Whom standards hasten to the fight along.

The martial clamour scares the plimd'ring band,

And drives them bootless tow'rds their native land.

The vulgar mass a dreadful carnage share,

And shed contagion on the ambient air.

While Anlaf, only, out of all the crew

Escapes the meed of death, so justly due.

Reserved by fortune's favor, once again ■■,

When Athelstan was dead, to claim our strain.

This place seems to require that I should relate the death
of Elfred in the words of the king, for which I before
pledged the faith of my narrative. For as he had conmianded
the bodies of his relations to be conveyed to Malmesbury,
and interred at the head of the sepulchre of St. Aldhelm ;
he honoured the place afterwards to such a degree, that he
esteemed none more desirable or more holy. Bestowing
many large estates upon it, he confirmed them by charters,
in one of wliich, after the donation, he adds : " Be it known
to the sages of our kingdom, that I have not unjustly seized
the lands aforesaid, or dedicated plunder to God ; but that I
have received them, as the English nobility, and even John,
the pope of the church of Rome himself, have judged

138 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT, [b. n. c. «.

fitting on the death of Elfred. He was the jealous rival both
of my happiness and life, and consented to the wickedness of
my enemies, who, on my father's decease, had not God in his
mercy delivered me, wished to put out my eyes in the city
of Winchester : wherefore, on the discovery of their
infernal contrivances, he was sent to the church of Rome to
defend himself by oath before pope John. This he did at
the altar of St. Peter ; but at the very instant he had sworn,
he fell down before it, and was carried by his servants to the
English School, where he died the third night after. The
pope immediately sent to consult with us, whether his body
should be placed among other Christians. On receiving this
account the nobility of our kingdom, with the whole body of
his relations, humbly entreated that we would grant our
permission for his remains to be buried with other
Christians. Consenting, therefore, to their urgent request,
we sent back our compliance to Rome, and with the pope's
permission he was buried, though unworthy, with other
Christians. In consequence all his property of every
description was adjudged to be mine. Moreover, we have
noted this in writing, that, so long as Christianity reigns, it
may never be abrogated, whence the aforesaid land, which I
have given to God and St. Peter, was granted me ; nor do I
know any thing more just, than that I should bestow this
gift on God and St. Peter, who caused my rival to fall in
the sight of all persons, and conferred on me a prosperous

ffii these words of the king, we may equally venerate his
wiMom, and his piety in sacred matters : his wisdom, that
so young a man should perceive that a sacrifice obtained by
rapine could not be acceptable to God : his piety in so grate-
fully making a return to God, out of a benefit conferred on
him by divine vengeancV Moreover, it may be necessary to
observe, that at that time the church of St. Peter was the
chief of the monastery, which now is deemed second only :
the church of St. Mary, which the monks at present fre-
quent, was built afterwards in the time of king Edgar, under
abbat Elfric. Thus far relating to the king I have written
from authentic testimony : that which follows I have learned
more from old ballads, popular through succeeding times,
than from books writttn expressly for the information of

Aa).926.J BKTH OF ATHELSTAN. 139

posterity. I have subjoined them, not to defend tteir
veracity, but to put my reader in possession of all I know.
First, then, to the relation of his birth.

There was in a certain village, a shepherd's daughter, a
girl of exquisite beauty, who gained through the elegance of
her person what her birth could never have bestowed. In a
vision she beheld a prodigy : the moon shone from her
womb, and all England was illuminated by the light. When
she sportively related this to her companions in the morning,
it was not so lightly received, but immediately reached the
ears of the woman who had nursed the sons of the king.
Deliberating on this matter, she took her home and adopted
her as a daughter, bringing up this young maiden with cost-
lier attire, more delicate food, and more elegant demeanour.
Soon after, Edward, the son of king Alfred, travelling
through the village, stopped at the house which had been the
scene of his infantine education. Indeed, he thought it would
be a blemish on his reputation to omit paying his salutations
to his nurse. He became deeply enamoured of the young
woman from the first moment he saw her, and passed the
night with her. In consequence of this single intercourse,
she brought forth her son Athelstan, and so realized her
dream. For at the expiration of his childish years, as he
approached manhood, he gave proof by many actions what
just expectations of noble qualities might be entertained of
him. King Edward, therefore, died, and was shortly
followed by his legitimate son Ethelward. All hopes now
centred in Athelstan : Elfred alone, a man of uncommon
insolence, disdaining to be governed by a sovereign whom he
had not voluntarily chosen, secretly opposed with his party to
the very utmost. But he being detected and punished, as
the king has before related, there were some who even
accused Edwin, the king's brother, of treachery. Base and
dreadful crime was it thus to embroil fraternal affection by
sinister constructions. Edwin, though imploring, both
personally and by messengers, the confidence of his brother,
and though invalidating the accusation by an oath, was
nevertheless driven into exile. So far, indeed, did the dark
suggestions of some persons prevail on a mind distracted
with various cares, that, forgetful of a brother's love, he ex-
pelled the youth, an object of pity even to strangers. The

140 WILLIAM OF MALMESBLTiy. [b. n. c. 9.

mode adopted too was cruel in the extreme : he was com-
pelled to go on board a vessel, with a single attendant, with-
out a rower, without even an oar, and the bark crazy with
age. Fortune laboured for a long time to restore the innocent
youth to land, but when at length he was far out at sea, and
sails could not endure the violence of the wind, the young
man, delicate, and weary of life under such circumstances,
put an end to his existence by a voluntary plunge into the
waters. The attendant wisely determining to prolong his
life, sometimes by shunning the hostile waves, and some-
times by urging the boat forward with his feet, brought his
master's body to land, in the narrow sea which flows between
Wissant and Dover. Athelstan, when his anger cooled, and
his mind became calm, shuddered at the deed, and submitting
to a seven years' penance, inflicted severe vengeance on
the accuser of his brother : he was the king's cup-bearer,
and on this account had opportunity of enforcing his insinu-
ations. It so happened on a festive day, as he was serving
wine, that slipping with one foot in the midst of the chamber,
he recovered himself with the other. On this occasion, he
made use of an expression which proved his destruction :
" Thus brother," said he, " assists brother." The king on
hearing this, ordered the faithless wretch to be put to death,
loudly reproaching him with the loss of that assistance he
might have had from his brother, were he alive, and bewail-
ing his death.

The circumstances of Edwin's death, though extremely
probable, I the less venture to affirm for truth, on account of
the extraordinary affection he manifested towards the rest of
his brothers ; for, as his father had left them very young, he
-cherished them whilst children with much kindness, and,
when grown up, made them partakers of his kingdom ; it is
before related to what dignity he exalted such of his sisters
as his father had left unmarried and unprovided for. Com-
pleting his earthly course, and that a short one, Athelstan
died at Gloucester. His noble remains were conveyed to
Malmesbury and buried under the altar. Many gifts, both
in gold and silver, as well as relics of saints purchased
abroad in Brittany, were carried before the body : for,
in such things, admonished, as they say, in a dream, he
expended the treasures which his father had long since

A D. 540— 944.] KING EDMUND. 141

amassed, and had left untouched. His years, though few,
were full of glory.

CHAP. yn.

Of kings Edmund^ Edred, and Bdwy. [a.d. 940 — doo.l

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 940, Edmund the bro-
ther of Athelstan, a youth of about eighteen, received and
held the government for six years and a half. In his time
the Northumbrians, meditating a renewal of hostihties, vio-
lated the treaty which they had made with Athelstan, and
created Anlaf, whom they had recalled from Ireland, their
king. Edmund, who thought it disgraceful not to complete
his brother's victorious course, led his troops against the de-
linquents ; who firesently retreating, he subjugated all the
cities on this side the river Humber. Anlaf, with a certain
prince, Reginald,* the son of that Gurmund of whom we have
spoken in the history of Alfred, sounding the disposition of
the king, 9ffered to surrender himself, proffering his conver-
sion to Christianity as a pledge of his fidelity, and receiving
baptism. His savage nature, however, did not let him re-
main long in this resolution, for he violated his oath, and
irritated his lord. In consequence of which, the following
year he suffered for his crimes, being doomed to perpetual
exile. The province which is called Cumberland Edmund
assigned to Malcolm, king of the Scots, under fealty of an
oath.

Among the many donations which the king conferred on
different churches, he exalted that of Glastonbury, through
his singular affection towards it, with great estates and ho-
nours ; and granted it a charter in these words :

" In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I Edmund, king
of the Angles, and governor and ruler of the other surround-
ing nations, with the advice and consent of my nobility, for
the hope of eternal retribution, and remission of my trans-
gressions, do grant to the church of the holy mother of God,
Mary of Glastonbury, and the venerable Dunstan, whom I
have there constituted abbat, the franchise and jurisdiction,

• Reginald was not the son of Gurmiind, but of Guthferth, who was
driven out of Northumberland by Athelstan. See Saxon Chronicle, a.d,

927—944.

142 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c. 7.

rights, customs, and all the forfeitures of all their posses-
sions ; that is to say,* burhgeritha, and hundred-setena.
athas and ordelas, and infangenetheofas, hamsocne, and fri-
debrice, and forestel and toll, and team, throughout my king-
dom, and their lands shall be free to them, and released from
all exactions, as my own are. But raore especially shall the
town of Glastonbury, in which is situated that most ancient
church of the holy mother of God, together with its bounds,
be more free than other places. The abbat of this place,
alone, shall have power, as well in causes known as unknown ;
in small and in great ; and even in those which are above,
and under the earth ; on dry land, and in the water ; in
woods and in plains ; and he shall have the same authority
of punishing or remitting the crimes of delinquents perpetra-
ted within it, as my court has ; in the same manner as my
predecessors have granted and confirmed by charter ; to wit,
Edward my father, and Elfred his father, and Kentwin, Ina,
and Cuthred, and many others, who more peculiarly honoured
and esteemed that noble place. And that any one, either
bishop, or duke,f or prince, or any of their servants, should
dare to enter it for the purpose of holding courts, or distrain-
ing, or doing any thing contrary to the will of the ser-
vants of God there, I inhibit under God's curse. Whosoever
therefore shall benevolently augment my donation, may his
life be prosperous in this present world ; long may he enjoy
his happiness : but whosoever shall presume to invade it
through his own rashness, let him know for certain that he
shall be compelled with fear and trembling to give account
before the tribunal of a rigorous judge, unless he shall first
atone for his offence by proper satisfaction."

The aforesaid donation was granted in the year of our

• The exact meaning of some of these terms is not easily attainable, but
they are generally understood to imply — jurisdiction over the burgh, or
town— hundred court — oaths and ordeals — thieves taken within the juris-
diction— housebreakers — breach of peace — offences committed on the high-
ways, or forestalling — tolls — warranty, or a right of reclaiming villains who
had absconded. The charter therefore conveys a right to hold various
courts, and consequently to try, and receive all mulcts arising from the
several offences enumerated, which being generally redeemable by fine,
produced considerable sums ; besides, what was perhaps of more import-
ftiicc, exemption from the vexations of the king's officers.

t Duke is often used in charters, &c. as synonvmous with earl.

A.D. 946.] EDMUND KILLED. 143

Lord Jesus Christ's incarnation 944, in the first of the indie-
tion, and was written in letters of gold in the book of the
Gospels, which he presented to the same church elegantly
adorned. Such great and prosperous successes, however,
were obscured by a melancholy death. A certain robber
named Leofa, whom he had banished for his crimes, returning
after six years' absence totally unexpected, was sitting, on
the feast of St. Augustine, the apostle of the English, and
first archbishop of Canterbury, among the royal guests at
Puckle-church,* for on this day the English were wont to re-
gale in commemoration of their first preacher ; by chance
too, he was placed near a nobleman whom the king had con-
descended to make his guest. This, while the others were
eagerly carousing, was perceived by the king alone ; when,
hurried with indignation and impelled by fate, he leaped
from the table, caught the robber by the hair, and dragged
him to the floor ; but he secretly drawing a dagger from its
sheath plunged it with all his force into the breast of the king
as he lay upon him. Dying of the wound, he gave rise over
the whole kingdom to many fictions concerning his decease.
The robber was shortly torn limb from limb by the attend-
ants who rushed in, though he wounded some of them ere
they could accomplish their purpose. St. Dunstan, at that
time abbat of Glastonbury, had foreseen his ignoble end,
being fully persuaded of it from the gesticulations and inso-
lent mockery of a devil dancing before him. Wherefore,
hastening to court at full speed, he received intelligence ot
the transaction on the road. By common consent then it
was determined, that his body should be brought to Glaston-
bury and there magnificently buried in the northern part of
the tower. That such had been his intention, through his
singular regard for the abbat, was evident from particular
circumstances. The village also where he was murdered
was made an offering for the dead, that the spot which had
witnessed his fall might ever after minister aid to his soul.

In his fourth year, that is, in the year of our Lord 944,
William, the son of RoUo, duke of Normandy, was treacher-
ously killed in France, which old writers relate as having
been done with some degree of justice. Rinulph, one of the
Norman nobility, owing William a grudge from some un-
* In Gloucestersliiie.

144 WILLIAM OF MAI.MESBURY. [i. ii. c. 7.

known cause, harassed him with perpetual aggr|;Ssiorts. His
son. Anschetil, who served under the earl, to gratify his lord
durst offer violence to nature for taking his father in bat-
tle : he delivered him into the power of the earl, relying on
the most solemn oath, that he should suffer nothing beyond
imprisonment. As wickedness, however, constantly dis-
covers pretences for crime, the earl, shortly after feigning an
excuse, sends Anschetil to Pavia bearing a letter to the
duke of Italy, the purport of which was his own destruction.
Completing his journey, he was received, on his entrance
into the city, in the most respectful manner ; and delivering
the letter, the duke, astonished at the treachery, shuddered,
that a warrior of such singular address should be ordered to
be despatched. But as he would not oppose the request of
so renowned a nobleman, he laid an ambush of a thousand
horsemen, as it is said, for Anschetil when he left the city.
For a long time, with his companions whom he had selected
out of all Normandy, he resisted their attack ; but at last he
fell nobly, compensating his own death by slaying many of
the enemy. The only survivor on either side was Balso, a
Norman, a man of small size, but of incredible courage ; al-
though some say that he was ironically called short. This
man, I say, alone hovered round the city, and by his single
sword terrified the townspeople as long as he thought pro-
per. No person will deem this incredible, who considers
what efforts the desperation of a courageous man will pro-
duce, and how little military valour the people of that region
possess. Returning thence to his own country, he laid his
complaint of the perfidy of his lord before the king of France.
Fame reported too, that Rinulph, in addition to his chains,
had had his eyes put out. In consequence the earl being
cited to his trial at Paris, was met, under the pretence of a
conference, as they assert, and killed by Balso ; thus making
atonement for his own perfidy, and satisfying the rage of his
antagonist in the midst of the river Seine. His death was
the source of long discord between the French and Normans,
till by the exertions of Richard his son it had a termination
worthy such a personage. A truer history* indeed relates,
that being at enmity with Ernulph, earl of Flanders, he had
possessed himself of one of his castles, and that being invited
• See Will. Gemeticensisb lib iii. c. 11.

A.D. 946-955.] EDRED EDWY. 145^

out hj him to a conference, on a pretended design of making
a truce, he was killed by Balso, as they were conversing in
a ship : that a key was found at his girdle, which being ap-
plied to the lock of his private cabinet, discovered certain
monastic habiliments;* for he ever designed, even amid his
warlike pursuits, one day to become a monk at Jumieges ;
which place, deserted from the time of Hasten, he cleared
of the overspreading thorns, and with princely magnificence
exalted to its present state.

In the year of our Lord 946, Edred, Edward's third son,
assuming the government, reigned nine years and a half.
He gave proof that he had not degenerated in greatness of
soul from his father and his brothers ; for he nearly extermi-
nated the Northumbrians and the Scots, laying waste the
whole province with sword and famine, because, having with
little difficulty compelled them to swear fidelity to him, they
broke their oath, and made Iricius their king. He for a long
time kept Wulstan, archbishop of York, who, it was said,
connived at the revolt of his countrymen, in chains, but
afterwards, out of respect to his ecclesiastical dignity, re-
leased and pardoned him. In the meantime, the king him-
self, prostrate at the feet of the saints, devoted his life to
God and to Dunstan, by whose admonition he endured with
patience his frequent bodily pains, f prolonged his prayers,
and made his palace altogether the school of virtue. He
died accompanied with the utmost grief of men, but joy of
angels ; for Dunstan, learning by a messenger that he was
sick, while urging his horse in order to see him, heard a
voice thundering over his head, " Now king Edred sleeps in
the Lord." He lies buried in the cathedral at Winchester.

In the year of our Lord 955, Edwy, son of Edmund, the
brother of Athelstan the former king, taking possession of
the kingdom, retained it four years : a wanton youth, who
abused the beauty of his person in illicit intercourse. Fi-
nally, taking a woman nearly related to him as his wife,
he doated on her beauty, and despised the advice of his coun-

* These were a woollen shirt and cowl. Will. Gemet. lib. iii. c. 12,
t Edred is described by Bridferth as being constantly oppressed with
sickness ; and of so weak a digestion, as to be unable to swallow more than
the juices of the food he had masticated, to the great annoyancp of his
guests. Vita Dunstani. Xct. Sanct. 1 9 Mali.

L

146 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [«. it c 7.

sellers. On the very day he had been consecrated king, in
full assembly of the nobility, when deliberating on affairs of
importance and essential to the state, he burst suddenly from
amongst them, darted wantonly into his chamber, and rioted
in the embraces of the harlot. All were indignant of the
shameless deed, and murmured among themselves. Dunstan
alone, with that firmness which his name implies,* regardless
of the royal indignation, violently dragged the lascivious boy
from the chamber, and on the archbishop's compelling him
to repudiate the strumpet, f made him his enemy for ever.
Soon after, upheld by most contemptible supporters, he
afflicted with undeserved calamities all the members of the
monastic order throughout England, — ^who were first de-
spoiled of their property, and then driven into exile. He
drove Dunstan himself, the chief* of monks, into Flanders.
At that time the face of monachism was sad and pitiable.
Even the monastery of Malmesbury, which had been inha-
bited by monks for more than two hundred and seventy
years, he made a sty for secular canons. But thou, O
Lord Jesus, our creator and redeemer, gracious disposer, art
abundantly able to remedy our defects by means of those ir-
regular and vagabond men. Thou didst bring to light thy
treasure, hidden for so many years — I mean the body of St.
Aldhelm, which they took up and placed in a shrine. The
royal generosity increased the fame of the canons ; for
the king bestowed on the saint an estate, very convenient
both from its size and vicinity. But my recollection shud-
ders even at this time, to think how cruel he was to other
monasteries, equally on account of the giddiness of youtli,
and the pernicious counsel of his concubine, who was per-
petually poisoning his uninformed mind. But let his soul,
long since placed in rest by the interposition of Dunstan, J

* A quibble on his name, as compounded of " hill " and ** stone."
+ Much variation prevails among the earliest writers concerning Elfgiva.
Bridferth (Act. Sanct. 19 Maii) says, there were two women, mother and
daughter, familiar with Edwy. A contemporary of Bridferth (MS. Cott.
Nero, E. I.) asserts, that he was married, but fell in love with, and carried
off, another woman. A MS. Saxon Chron. (Cott. Tib. b. iv.) says, they
were separated, as being of kin. Osbeme, Edmer, and Malmesbury, in his
Life of Dunstan (MS.), all repeat the story of the two women.

X Dunstan, learning that he was dead, <and that the devils were about to
carry off his soul in triumph by his jprajers obtained his release. A vurioua

<L.D. 959—970.] OF KING EDGAR. ] 47

pardon my grief : grief, I say, compels me to condemn him,
*' because private advantage is not to bs preferred to public
loss, but rather public loss should outweigh private advan-
tage." He paid the penalty of his rash attempt even in this
life, being despoiled of the greatest part of his kingdom ; *
shocked with which calamity, he died, and was buried in the
new minster at Winchester.

CHAP. vni.

Of king Edgar ^ son of king Edmund, [a.d. 959 — 975.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 959, Edgar, the honour
and delight of the English, the son of Edmund, the brother
of Edwy, a youth of sixteen years old, assuming the govern-
ment, held it for about a similar period. The transactions of
his reign are celebrated with peculiar splendour even in our
times. The Divine love, which he sedulously procured by
his devotion and energy of counsel, shone propitious on his
years. It is commonly reported, that at his birth Dunstiui
heard an angelic voice, saying, " Peace to England so long
as this child shall reign, and our Dunstan survives." The
succession of events was in unison with the heavenly oracle ;
so much while he lived did ecclesiastical glory flourish, and
martial clamour decay. Scarcely does a year elapse in the
chronicles, in which he did not perform something great and
advantageous to his country ; in which he did not build
some new monastery. He experienced no internal treachery,
no foreign attack. Kinad, king of the Scots, Malcolm, of the.
Cambrians, that prince of pirates, Maccus, all the Welsh
kings, whose names were Dufnal, Giferth, Huval, Jacob,
Judethil, being summoned to his court, were bound to him
by one, and that a lasting oath ; so that meeting him at
Chester, he exhibited them on the river Dee in triumphal
ceremony. For putting them all on board the same vessels
he compelled them to row him as he sat at the prow : thus
displaying his regal magnificence, who held so many kings
in subjection. Indeed, he is reported to have said, that
hencefoi-ward his successors might truly boast of being kings

colloquy between the abbat and the devils on the subject, may be found in
Osbenie's Life of Dunstan, Anglia Sacra, ii. 108.

• The Mercians liad revolted, and chosen Edgar king,
l2

148 WILLIAM OF MALMESBLTIY. [b. ii. c. 8.

of England, since tliey would enjoy so singular an honour.
Hence his fame being noised abroad, foreigners, Saxons,
Flemings, and even Danes, frequently sailed hither, and
were on terms of intimacy with Edgar, though their arrival
was highly prejudicial to the natives : for from the Saxons
they learned an untameable ferocity of mind ; from the Flem-
ings an unmanly delicacy of body ; and from the Danes
drunkenness ; though they were before free from such pro-
pensities, and disposed to observe their own customs with
native simplicity rather than admire those of others. For
this history justly and deservedly blames him ; for the other
imputations which I shall mention hereafter have rather been
cast on him by ballads.

At this time the light of holy men was so resplendent in Eng-
land, that you would believe the very stars from heaven smiled
upon it. Among these was Dunstan, whom I have mentioned
so frequently, first, abbat of Glastonbury ; next, bishop of
Worcester ; and lastly, archbishop of Canterbury : of great
power in earthly matters, in high favour with God ; in the
one representing Martha, in the other Mary. Next to king
Alfred, he was the most extraordinary patron of the liberal
arts tliroughout the whole island ; the munificent restorer of
monasteries ; terrible were his denunciations against trans-
gressing kings and princes ; kind was his support of the
middhng and poorer classes. Indeed, so extremely anxious
was he to preserve peace ever in trivial matters, that, as his
countrymen used to assemble in taverns, and when a little
elevated quarrel as to the proportions of their liquor, he or-
dered gold or silver pegs to be fastened in the pots, that
whilst every man knew his just measure, shame should com-
pel each neither to take more himself, nor oblige others to
drink beyond their proportional share. Osberne,* precentor
of Canterbury, second to none of these times in composition,
and indisputably the best skilled of all in music, who wrote
his life with Roman elegance, forbids me to relate farther
praiseworthy anecdotes of him. Besides, in addition to this,
if the divine grace shall accompany my design, I intend after
the succession of the kings at least to particularize the names
of all the bishops of each province in England, and to offer
them to the knowledge of my countrymen, if I shall be able
• Osberne's Life of St. Dunstan is published in the Anglia Sacra, vol. ii.

».D. 973.] . KING Edgar's reforms. ] 49

to coin anything worth notice out of the mintage of anti-
quity. How powerful indeed the sanctity and virtue of
Dunstan's disciples were, is sufficiently evidenced by Ethel-
wold, made abbat of Abingdon from a monk of Glastonbury,
and afterwards bishop of Winchester, who built so many and
such great monasteries, as to make it appear hardly credible
how the bishop of one see should be able to effect what the
king of England himself could scarcely undertake. I am
deceived, and err through hasty opinion, if what I assert be
not evident. How great are the monasteries of Ely, Peter-
borough, and Thorney, which he raised from the foundations,
and completed by his industry ; which though repeatedly re-
duced by the wickedness of plunderers, are yet sufficient for
their inhabitants. His life was composed in a decent style
by Wulstan,* precentor of Winchester, who had been his
attendant and pupil : he wrote also another very useful work,
" On the Harmony of Sounds," a proof that he was a learned
Englishman, a man of pious life and correct eloquence. At
that time too Oswald, nephew of Odo, who had been arch-
bishop before Dunstan, from a monk of Flory becoming bi-
shop of Worcester and archbishop of York, claimed equal
honours with the others. Treading the same paths, he ex-
tended the monastic profession by his authority, and built a
monastery at Ramsey in a marshy situation. He filled the
cathedral of Worcester with monks, the canons not being
driven out by force, but circumvented by pious fraud. f
Bishop Ethelwold, by the royal conmiand, had before ex-
pelled the canons from Winchester, who, upon the king's
giving them an option either to live according to rule, or de-
part the place, gave the preference to an easy hfe, and were
at that time without fixed habitations wandering over the
whole island. In this manner these three persons, illumina-
ting England, as it were, with a triple light, chased away the
thick darkness of error. In consequence, Edgar advanced
the monastery of Glastonbury, which he ever loved beyond
all others, with great possessions, and was anxiously vigilant

* Wulstan's life of Ethelwold is printed by Mabillon, and in the Acta
Sanctorum, Antwerp. Aug. tome i.

t He erected another church at Worcester, in which he placed monks.
The canons finding the people desert them in order to obtain the favour of
the new comers, bv degrees took the monastic habit. See Malmesbury de
Gest. Pontif. lib. iii.

x^

WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [m. n. c. 8.

in all things pertaining either to the beauty or convenience
of the church, whether internally or externally. It may be
proper here to subjoin to our narrative the charter he
granted to the said church, as I have read it in their ancient
chartulary.*

* Some MSS. omit from " Edgar of glorious memory, &c." to "spoken
of another. The monastic order," &c. in page 155, and insert the charter
at length, together with what follows it, thus :

*' In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ : although the decrees of pon-
tiffs and the decisions of priests are fixed by irrevocable bonds, like the
foundations of the mountains, yet, nevertheless, through the storms and
tempests of secular matters, and the corruptions of reprobate men, the in-
stitutions of the holy church of God are often convulsed and broken.
Wherefore I perceive that it will be advantageous to posterity that I should
confirm by writing what has been determined by wholesome counsel and
common consent. In consequeuce, it seems proper that the church of the
most blessed mother of God, the eternal virgin Mary, of Glastonbury, in-
asmuch as it has always possessed the chief dignity in my kingdom, should
be honoured by us with some especial and unusual privilege. Dunstan,
therefore, and Oswald, archbishops of Canterbury and York, exhorting
thereto, and Brithelm, bishop of Wells, and other bishops, abbats, and
chiefs assenting and approving, I, Edgar, by the grace of God, king of the
English, and ruler and governor of the adjacent nations, in the name of the
blessed Trinity, for the soul of my father who reposes there, and of my pre-
decessors, do by this present privilege decree, appoint, and establish, that
the aforesaid monastery and all its possessions shall remain free and exone-
rated from all payments to the Exchequer now and for ever : they shall have
soc and sac, on stronde and on ^vude, on felde, on grithbrice, on burgbrice,
hundredsetena, and mortheras, athas, and ordelas, ealle hordas bufan eor-
than, and beneothan : infangenetheof, utfangenetheof, flemenefertha, ham-
socne, friderbrice, foresteal, toll and team, just as free and peaceably as I
have in my kingdom : let the same liberty and power also as I have in my
own court, as well in forgiving as in punishing, and in every other matter,
be possessed by the abbat and monks of the aforesaid monastery within
their comt. And should the abbat, or any monk of that place, upon his
journey, meet a thief going to the gallows, or to any other punishment of
death, they shall have power of rescuing him from the impending danger
throughout my kingdom. Moreover, I confirm and establish what has
hitherto been scrupulously observed by all my predecessors, that the bishop
of Wells and his ministers shall have no power whatever over this monas-
tery, or its parish-churches ; that is to say. Street, Miricling [Merlinge] ,
Budecal, Shapwick, Sowy, or their chapels, or even over those contained
in the islands, that is to say, Beokery, otherwise called Little Ireland, God-
ney, Martensia, Patheneberga, Adredseia, and Ferramere, except only
when summoned by the abbat for dedications or ordinations, nor shall they
cite their priests to their synods or chapters, or to any of their courts, nor
shall they suspend them from their holy oflSce, or presume to exercise any
right over them whatever. The abbat shall cause any bishop of the same
pro^'ince he pleases to ordain his monks, and the clerks of the aforesaid

A. 0.973.1 Edgar's CHARTER. 151

"Edgar of glorious memory, king of the Angles, son
of king Edmund, whose inclinations were ever vigilantly
bent on divine matters, often coming to the monastery of the

churches, according to the ancient custom of the church of Glastonbury,
and the apostolical authority of archbishop Diuistan, and of all the bishops
of my kingdom ; but the dedications of the churches we consign to the
bishop of Wells, if he be required by the abbat. At Easter let him re-
ceive the chrism of sanctifi cation, and the oil from the bishop of Wells,
according to custom, and distribute them to his before mentioned churches.
This too I command above all other things : on the curse of God, and by
my authority, saving the right of the holy Roman church, and that of
Canterbury, I inhibit all persons, of whatever dignity, be they king, or
bishop, or earl, or prince, or any of my dependants, from daring to enter
the bounds of Glastonbury, or of the above named parishes, for the purpose
of searching, seizing, holding courts, or doing any thing to the prejinlice of
the servants of God there residing. The abbat and convent shall alone
have power in causes known and unknown, in small and in great, and in
every thing as we have before related. And whosoever, upon any occasion,
whatever be his dignity, whatever his order, whatever his profession, shall
attempt to pervert or nullify the pre-eminency of this my privilege by sacri-
legious boldness, let him be aware that he must without a doubt give ac-
count thereof, with fear and trembling, before a severe Judge, unless he
first endeavour to make reparation by proper satisfaction." The charter
of this privilege the aforesaid king Edgar confirmed by his own signature at
London, in the twelfth year of his reign, with the common consent of his
nobles ; and in the same year, which was the 965th of our Lord's incarna-
tion, and the 14th of the indiction, pope John, in a general assembly, au-
thorized it at Rome, and made all the men of chief dignity who presided
at that council confirm it ; and also, from motives of paternal regard, sent
a letter to the following effect to earl Alfric, who was then grievously per-
secuting the aforesaid church : —

** Bishop John, servant of the servants of God, to Alfric the distinguished
earl, and our dearly beloved son in the Spirit, perpetual health and apos-
tolical benediction. We have learned, from the report of certain faithful
people, that you commit many enormities against the church of the holy
mother of God, called Mary of Glastonbury, which is acknowledged to be-
long solely to, and to be under the protection of, the Roman Pontiff, from
the earliest times ; and that you have seized with boundless rapacity upon
its estates and possessions, and even the churches of Brent and Pilton,
which, by the gift of king Ina, it legally possesses, together with other
churches, that is to say, Sowy, Martine, Budecal, Shapwick, and that on
account of your near residence you are a continual enemy to its interests.
It would, however, have been becoming, from your living so near, that by
your assistance the holy church of God might have been much benefited
and enriched ; but, horrible to say ! it is impoverished by your hostility,
and injured by your deeds of oppression ; and since we doubt not that we,
though unworthily, have received from St. Peter the apostle the care of all
the churches, and solicitude for all things ; we therefore admonish vour
affection, to abstain from plundering it, for the love of the apostles Peter

152 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 8.

holy mother of God at Glastonbury, and studying to honour
this place with dignity superior to others, hath by the com-
mon consent of the bishops, abbats, and nobility, conferred
on it many and very splendid privileges ; — the first of which
is, that no person, unless a monk of that place, shall there be
abbat, either in name or in office, nor any other, except such
as the common consent of the meeting shall have chosen ac-
cording to the tenor of the rule. But should necessity so
ordain, that an abbat or monk of another monastery be made
president of this place, then he deems it proper that none
shall be appointed, but such as the congregation of the mo-
nastery may elect, to preside over them in the fear of the
Lord ; nor shall this be done, if any, even the lowest of the
congregation, can be there found fit for the office. He hath
appointed too, that the election of their abbat shall rest for
ever in the monks, reserving only to himself and his heirs
the power of giving the pastoral staff to the elected brother.
He hath ordained also, that so often as the abbat or the
monks of this place shall appoint any of their society to be
dignified with holy orders, they shall cause any bishop
eanonically ordained, either in his own cathedral, or in the
monastery of St. Mary at Glastonbury, to ordain such monks
and clerks as they deem fit to the church of St. Mary. He
hath granted moreover, that as he himself decides in his own
dominions, so the abbat or the convent shall decide the causes
of their entire island,* in all matters ecclesiastical or
secular, without the contradiction of any one. Nor shall it
be lawful for any person to enter that island which bore wit-
ness to his birth, whether he be bishop, duke, or prince, or
person of whatever order, for the purpose of there doing any
thing prejudicial to the servants of God : this he forbids al-
together, in the same manner as his predecessors have sanc-
tioned and confirmed by their privileges ; that is to say,
Kentwin, Ina, Ethelard, Cuthred, Alfred, Edward, Athel-
stan, and Edmund. When, therefore, by the common con-

and Paul, and respect to us, invading none of its possessions, churches,
chapels, places, and estates ; but if you persist, remember, that by the au-
thority of the chief of the apostles, committed unto us, you shall be ex-
communicated and banished from the company of the faithful, subjected
to a perpetual curse, and doomed to eternal fire with the traitor Judas."

* Glastonbury is situated on land which was once an island formed by a
stagnation of inland waters, in a low situation.

AD. 9730 CHARTER OF GLASTONBURY. 153

sent, as has been said, of his prelates, abbats, and nobility,
he determined to grant these privileges to the place afore-
said, he laid his own horn, beautifully formed of ivory and
adorned with gold, upon the altar of the holy mother of God,
and by that donation confirmed them to the same holy mo-
ther of God, and her monks, to be possessed for ever.
Soon after he caused this horn to be cut in two in his pre-
sence, that no future abbat might give or sell it to any one,
commanding part of it to be kept upon the spot for a testi-
mony of the aforesaid donation. Recollecting, however, how
great is the temerity of human inconstancy, and on whom it
is likely to creep, and fearing lest any one hereafter should
attempt to take away these privileges from this place, or
eject the monks, he sent this charter of royal liberality to
the renowned lord, pope John, who had succeeded Octavian
in the honour of the pontificate, begging him to corroborate
these grants by an apostolical bull. Kindly receiving the
legation, the pope, with the assenting voice of the Roman
council, confirmed what had been already ordained, by wri-
ting an apostolical injunction, terribly hurling on the viola-
tors of them, should any be so daring, the vengeance of a
perpetual curse. This confirmation therefore of the afore-
said pope, directed to the same place, king Edgar, of worthy
memory, laid upon the altar of the holy mother of God for a
perpetual remembrance, commanding it to be carefully kept
in future for the information of posterity. We have judged
it proper to insert both these instruments, lest we should be
supposed to invent such things against those persons who
seek to enter into the fold of St. Mary, not like shepherds, by
the door, but like thieves and robbers, some other way. " Be
it known to all the faithful, that I, John the twelfth, through
the mercy of God unworthy pope of the holy Roman See,
am intreated by the humble request of the noble Edgar, king
of the Angles, and of Dunstan, archbishop of the holy church
of Canterbury, for the monastery of St. Mary, Glastonbury ;
which, induced by the love of the heavenly King, they have
endowed with many great possessions, increasing in it the mo-
nastic order, and having confirmed it by royal grant, they pray
me also so to do. Wherefore assenting to their affectionate
request, I take that place into the bosom of the Roman
church, and the protection of the holy apostles, and support

1

154 WILLIAM: OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. r. 8.

and confirm its immunities as long as it shall remain in the
same conventual order in which it now flourishes. The
monks shall have power to elect their own superior ; ordina-
tion, as well of monks as of clerks, shall be at the will of the
abbat and convent. We ordain, moreover, that no person
shall have liberty to enter this island, either to hold courts,
to make inquiry, or to correct ; and should any one attempt
to oppose this, or to take away, retain, diminish, or harass
with vexatious boldness, the possessions of the same church,
he shall become liable to a perpetual curse, by the authority
of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the holy mother of
God, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all saints, unless
he recant. But the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
all who maintain the rights of the place aforesaid. Amen.
And let this our deed remain unshaken. Done in the time of
Edward, abbat of the said monastery." The aforesaid king
Edgar confirmed these things at London, by his solemn char-
ter, in the twelfth year of his reign ; and in the same year,
that is, of our Lord 965,* the pope aforesaid allowed them in
a general synod at Rome, and commanded all members of
superior, dignity who were present at the said general coun-
cil, to confirm them likewise. Let the despisers then of so
terrible a curse consider well what an extensive sentence of
excommunication hangs over their heads : and indeed to St.
Peter the apostle, the chief of apostles, Christ gave the office
either of binding or loosing, as well as the keys of the king-
dom of heaven. But to all the faithful it must be plain and
evident, that the head of the Roman church must be the
vicar of this apostle, and the immediate inheritor of his
power. Over this church then John of holy memory lauda-
bly presided in his lifetime, as he lives to this day in glorious
recollection, promoted thereto by the choice of God and of
all the people. If then the ordinance of St. Peter the apos-
tle be binding, consequently that of John the pope must be so
likewise ; but not even a madman would deny the ordinance
of Peter the apostle to be binding, consequently no one in his
sober senses can say that the ordinance of John the pope is
invalid. Either, therefore, acknowledging the power con-
ferred by Christ on St. Peter and his successors, they will
abstain from transgressing against the authority of so dread-
* The twelfth of Edgar was 971.

A.D. 973. j ELFRIC GUARDIAN OF MALMESBURY. 155

ful an interdict, or else contemning it, they will, with the
devil and his angels, bring upon themselves the eternal dura-
tion of the curse aforewritten. In consequence, it is mani-
fest that no stranger ever seized this monastery for himself,
who did not, as shaU appear, disgracefully lose it again ; and
that this occurred, not by any concerted plan of the monks,
but by the judgment of God, for the avenging his holy au-
thority. Wherefore let no man reading this despise it, nor
make himself conspicuous by being angry at it ; for should
he, perhaps he will confess that to be said of himself which
was designed to be spoken of another. The monastic order,
for a long time depressed, now joyfully reared its head, and
hence it came to pass that our monastery also resumed its
ancient liberties : but this I think will be more suitably rela-
ted in the words of the king himself.

"I, Edgar, king of all Albion, and exalted, by the subjec-
tion of the surrounding kings maritime or insular, by the
bountiful grace of God, to a degree never enjoyed by any of
my progenitors, have often, mindful of so high an honour,
diligently considered what offering I should more especially
make from my earthly kingdom, to the King of kings. In
aid of my pious devotion, heavenly love suddenly insinuated
to my watchful solicitude, that I should rebuild all the holy
monasteries throughout my kingdom, which, as they were
outwardly ruinous, with mouldering shingles and worm-eaten
boards, even to the rafters, so, what was still worse, they had
become internally neglected, and almost destitute of the ser-
vice of God ; wherefore, ejecting those illiterate clerks, sub-
ject to the discipline of no regular order, in many places I
have appointed pastors of an holier race, that is, of the mon-
astic order, supplying them with ample means out of my
royal revenues to repair their churches wherever ruinated.
One of these pastors, by name Elfric, in all things a true
priest, I have appointed guardian of that most celebrated
monastery which the Angles call by a twofold name Mald-
elmes-burgh. To wliich, for the benefit of my soul, and in
honour of our Saviour, and the holy mother of God the vir-
gin Mary, and the apostles Peter and Paul, and the amiable
prelate Aldhelm, I have restored, with munificent liberality,
a portion of land : and more especially a piece of ground,*

• Here is an omission, apparently, which may be supplied from the Ang.

f*a»* WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. > n. & S.

with meadows and woods. This, leased out by the aforesaid
priest, was unjustly held by the contentious Edelnot; but his
vain and subtle disputation being heard by my counsel-
lors, and his false defence being, in my presence, nullified,
by them, I have restored it to the use of the monastery in
the year of our Lord 974, in the fourteenth of my reign, and
the first of my royal consecration."

And here I deem it not irrelevant to commit to writing
what was supernaturally shown to the king. He had entered
a wood abundant in game, and, as usually happens, while his
associates were dispersed in the thicket for the purpose of hunt-
ing, he was left alone. Pursuing his course, he came to the out-
let of the wood, and stopping there waited for his companions.
Shortly after, seized with an irresistible desire to sleep, he
alighted from his horse, that the enjoyment of a short re-
pose might assuage the fatigue of the past day. He lay
down, therefore, under a wild apple-tree, where the cluster-
ing branches had formed a shady canopy all around. A
river, flowing softly beside him, adding to his drowsiness, by its
gentle murmur soothed him to sleep ; when a bitch, of the
hunting breed, pregnant, and lying down at his feet, terri-
fied him in his slumbers. Though the mother was silent,
yet the whelps within her womb barked in various sonorous
tones, incited, as it were, by a singular delight in the place
of their confinement. Astonished at this prodigy, as he
lifted up his eyes towards the summit of the tree, he saw,
first one apple, and then another, fall into the river, by the
collision of which, the watery bubbles being put in commo-
tion, a voice articulately sounded, "Well is thee." Soon
after, driven by the rippling wave, a little pitcher appeared
upon the stream, and after that a larger vessel, overflowing
with water, for the former was empty : and although by the
violence of the stream the greater vessel pressed upon the
lesser that it might discharge its waters into it ; yet it ever
happened that the pitcher escaped, still empty, and again, as
in a haughty and insulting manner, attacked the larger. Re-
turning home, as the Psalmist says, " He thought upon what
had been done, and sought out his spirit." His mother ad-
dressed him, however, that she might cheer both his counte-

Sac. ii. p. 33. " A piece of ground, to wit, ot ten farms (or manors), called
Estotun," &c. G. Malm, de Vita Adhelmi.

A.D. 973.1 Edgar's VISION." 357

nance and his heart ; saying, it should be her care to entreat
God, who knew how to explain mysteries by the light of his
inspiration. With this admonition he dispelled his grief and
dismissed his anxiety, conscious of his mother's sanctity, to
whom God had vouchsafed many revelations. Her name
was Elfgiva, a woman intent on good works, and gifted with
such affection and kindness, that she would even secretly
discharge the penalties of those culprits whom tlie sad sen-
tence of the judges had publicly condemned. That costly
clothing, which, to many women, is the pander of vice, was
to her the means of liberality ; as she would give a garment
of the most beautiful workmanship to the first poor person
she saw. Even malice itself, as there was nothing to carp at,
might praise the beauty of her person and the work of her
hands. Thoroughly comprehending the presage, she said
to her son next morning, " The barking of the whelps while
the mother was sleeping, implies, that after your death, those
persons who are now living and in power, dving also, mis-
creants yet unborn will bark against the church of God.
And whereas one apple followed the other, so that the voice,

* Well is thee,' seemed to proceed from the dashing of the
second against the first, this implies that from you, who are
now a tree shading all England, two sons will proceed ; the
favourers of the second will destroy the first, when the
chiefs of the different parties will say to each of the boys,

* Well is thee,' because the dead will reign in heaven, the
living on earth, Forasmuch as the greater pitcher could not
fill the smaller, this signifies, that the Northern nations,
which are more numerous than the English, shall attack
England after your death ; and, although they may recruit
their deficiencies by perpetual supplies of their countrymen,
yet they shall never be able to fill this Angle of the world,
but instead of that, our Angles, when they seem to be com-
pletely subjugated, shall drive them out, and it shall remain
under its own and God's governance, even unto the time be-
fore appointed by Christ. Amen."

Farther perusal will justify the truth of the presage. The
manifest sanctity both of parent and child ought here to be
considered ; that the one should see a mystery when broad
awake without impediment, and that the other should be able
to solve the problem by the far-discerning eye of prophecy.

ISa WILLIAM OF 5LA.LMESBURY. Lb. ii. c. 8.

The rigour of Edgar's justice was equal to the sanctity of
his manners, so that he permitted no person, be his dignity
what it might, to elude the laws with impunity. In his time
there was no private thief, no public freebooter, unless such
as chose to risk the loss of life for their attacks upon the
property of others.* How, indeed, can it be supposed that
he would pass over the crimes of men when he designed to ex-
terminate every beast of prey from his kingdom ; and com-
manded Judwall, king of the Welsh, to pay him yearly a
tribute of three hundred wolves? This he performed for
three years, but omitted in the fourth, declaring that he
could find no more.

Although it is reported that he was extremely small both
in stature and in bulk, yet nature had condescended to en-
close such strength in that diminutive body, that he would
voluntarily challenge any person, whom he knew to be bold
and valiant, to engage with him, and his greatest apprehen-
sion was, lest they should stand in awe of him in these
encounters. Moreover, at a certain banquet, where the
prating of coxcombs generally shows itself very freely, it is
reported that Kinad, king of the Scots, said in a sportive
manner, that it seemed extraordinary to him how so many
provinces should be subject to such a sorry little fellow. This
was caught up with malignant ear by a certain minstrel, and
afterwards cast in Edgar's teeth, with the customary raillery
of such people. But he, concealing the circumstance from
his friends, sent for Kinad, as if to consult him on some
secret matter of importance, and leading him aside far
into the recesses of a wood, he gave him one of two swords,
which he had brought with him. " Now," said he, " as we are
alone, I shall have an opportunity of proving your strength ;
I will now make it appear which ought deservedly to com-
mand the other ; nor shall you stir a foot till you try the
matter with me, for it is disgraceful in a king to prate at a
banquet, and not to be prompt in action." Confused, and
not daring to utter a word, he fell at the feet of his sovereign

• Edgar's laws for the punishment of offenders were horribly severe. The
eyes were put out, nostrils slit, ears torn off, hands and feet cut off, and,
finally, after the scalp had been torn off, the miserable wretches were letlt
exposed to birds or beasts of prey. V. Acta Sanctor. Jul. 2, in Vita

A.D.973.] edgak's character. .15<>

lord, and asked pardon for what was merely a joke ; which
he immediately obtained. But what of this ? Every sum-
mer, as soon as the festival of Easter was passed, he ordered
his ships to be collected on each coast ; cruising to the west-
ern part of the island with the eastern fleet ; and, dismissing
that, with the western to the north ; and then again with
the northern squadron towards the east, carefully vigilant
lest pirates should disturb the country. During the winter
and spring, travelling through the provinces, he made inquiry
*nto the decisions of men in power, severely avenging violated
laws, by the one mode advancing justice, by the other military
strength ; and in both consulting public utility. There are
some persons, indeed, who endeavour to dim his exceeding
glory by saying, that in his earlier years he was cruel to his
subjects, and libidinous in respect of virgins. Th Ir first
accusation they exemplify thus. There was, in his time,
one Athelwold, a nobleman of celebrity and one of his con-
fidants. The king had commissioned him to visit Elfthrida,
daughter of Ordgar, duke of Devonshire, (whose charms had
so fascinated the eyes of some persons that they commended
her to the king), and to offer her marriage, if her beauty
were really equal to report. Hastening on his embassy, and
finding everything consonant to general estimation, he con-
cealed his mission from her parents and procured the damsel
for himself Returning to the king, he told a tale which
made for his own purpose ; that she was a girl nothing out
of the common track of beauty, and by no means worthy
such transcendent dignity. When Edgar's heart was disen-
gaged from this affair, and employed on other amours, some
tattlers acquainted him, how completely Athelwold had
duped him by his artifices. Paying him in his own coin, that
is, returning him deceit for deceit, he showed the earl a fair
countenance, and, as in a sportive manner, appointed a
day when he would visit his far-famed lady. Terrified,
almost to death, with this dreadful pleasantry, he hastened
before to his wife, entreating that she would administer to
his safety by attiring herself as unbecomingly as possible :
then first disclosing the intention of such a proceeding.
But what did not this woman dare ? She was hardy enough
to deceive the confidence of her first lover, her first husband ;
to call up every charni by art, and to omit nothing which

160 WILLIAM OF MALMESBTJRY. [ari.c.8.

could stimulate the desire of a young and powerful man.
Nor did events happen contrary to her design. For he fell
so desperately in love with her the moment he saw her, that,
dissembling his indignation, he sent for the earl into a wood
at Warewelle,* called Harewood, under pretence of hunting,
and ran him through with a javelin : and when the illegiti-
mate son of the murdered nobleman approached with his ac-
customed familiarity, and was asked by the king how he
liked that kind of sport, he is reported to have said, " Well,
my sovereign liege, I ought not to be displeased with that
which gives you pleasure." This answer so assuaged the
mind of the raging monarch, that, for the remainder of his
life, he held no one in greater estimation than this young
man ; mitigating the offence of his tyrannical deed against
the father, by royal solicitude for the son. In expiation of
this crime, a monastery which was built on the spot by
Elfthrida is inhabited by a large congregation of nuns.

To this instance of cruelty, they add a second of lust.
Hearing of the beauty of a certain virgin, who was dedicated
to God, he carried her off from a monastery by force, ravish-
ed her, and repeatedly made her the partner of his bed.
When this circumstance reached the ears of St. Dunstan, he
was vehemently reproved by him, and underwent a seven
years' penance ; though a king, submitting to fast and to
forego the wearing of his crown for that period, f They add
a third, in which both vices may be discovered. King Edgar
coming to Andover, a town not far from Winchester, ordered
the daughter of a certain nobleman, the fame of whose beauty
had been loudly extolled, to be brought to him. The mother
of the young lady, shocked at the proposed concubinage of
her daughter, assisted by the darkness of night placed an
attendant in his bed ; a maiden indeed neither deficient in
elegance nor in understanding. The night having passed,
when aurora was hastening into day, the woman attempted to
rise ; and being asked, " why in such haste ?" she replied,
" to perform the daily labour of her mistress." Retained
though with difficulty, on her knees she bewailed her
wretched situation to the king, and entreated her freedom as

* Whorwell, Hants.

t This seems to have been founded on the singular circumstance of hia
not having been crowned till within two years of his death.

4.0.973.] EDGAR S CHARACTER. 161

the recompence of her connexion with him ; saying, " that
it became his greatness, not to suffer one who had ministered
to his royal pleasure, any longer to groan under the com-
mands of cruel masters." His indignation being excited,
and sternly smiling, while his mind was wavering between
pity to the girl, and displeasure to her mistress, he, at last, as
if treating the whole as a joke, released her from servitude,
and dismissed his anger. Soon after, he exalted her with
great honour, to be mistress of her former tyrants, little con-
sulting how they liked it, loved her entirely, nor left her bed
till he took Elfthrida, the daughter of Ordgar, to be his legiti-
mate wife. Elfthrida bore him Edmund, who dying five
years before his father, lies buried at Romsey, and Ethelred,
who reigned after him. Besides, of Egelfleda, surnamed
the fair, the daughter of the most powerful duke, Ordmer,
he begot Edward ; and St. Editha of Wulfritha, who it is
certain was not a nun at that time, but being a lay virgin
had assumed the veil through fear of the king, though she
was immediately afterwards forced to the royal bed ; on
which, St. Dunstan, offended that he should desire lustfully a
person who had been even the semblance of a nun, exerted
the pontifical power against him. But however these things
may be, this is certain, that from the sixteenth year of his
age, when he was appointed king, till the thirtieth, he reigned
without the insignia of royalty ; for at that time, the princes
and men of every order assembling generally, he was crowned
with great pomp at Bath, survived only three years, and was
buried at Glastonbury. Nor is it to be forgotten, that when
abbat Ailward opened his tomb in the year of our Lord
1052, he found the body unconscious of corruption ; which
instead of inclining him to reverence, served only to in-
crease his audacity. For when the receptacle which he had
prepared, seemed too small to admit the body, he profaned
the royal corpse by cutting it. Whence the blood imme-
diately gushing out in torrents, shook the hearts of the by-
standers with horror. In consequence his royal remains
were placed upon the altar in a shrine, which he had him-
self given to this church, with the head of St. ApoUinaris,
and the relics of Vincent the martyr ; which purchased, at
a great price, he had added to the beauty of the house of
God. The violator of the sacred body presently became dis-

162 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBHRY. [». n. c. ft

tracted, and not long after, going out of the church, met his
death by a broken neck. Nor did the display of royal
sanctity stop thus ; it proceeded still further, a man, lunatic
and blind, being there cured. Deservedly then does the re-
port prevail among the English, that no king, either of his
own or former times in England, could be justly and fairly
compared to Edgar : for nothing could be more holy than
his life, nothing more praiseworthy than his justice; those
vices excepted which he afterwards obliterated by abundant
virtues : a man who rendered his country illustrious through
his distinguished courage, and the brilliancy of his actions,
as well as by the increase of the servants of God. After his
departure, the state and the hopes of the English met with
a melancholy reverse.*

CHAP. IX.

Of St. Edward king and martyr the son of Edgar. [a.d. 975 — 978.]

In the year of our Lord 975, Edward the son of Edgar be-
gan to reign, and enjoyed the sovereignty for three years
and a half. Dunstan, in common consent with the other
bishops, elevated him to the royal dignity, in opposition, as it is
said, to the will of some of the nobility, and of his step-
mother ; who was anxious to advance her son Ethelred, a
child scarcely seven years of age, in order that herself might
govern under colour of his name. Then, from the increasing
malice of men, the happiness of the kingdom was impaired ;
then too, comets were seen, which were asserted certainly
to portend either pestilence to the inhabitants, or a change in
the government. Nor was it long ere there followed a
scarcity of corn ; famine among men ; murrain among cattle ;
and an extraordinary accident at a royal town called Calne.
For as soon as Edgar was dead, the secular canons who had
been for some time expelled their monasteries, rekindled the
former feuds, alleging, that it was a great and serious dis-
grace, for new comers to drive the ancient inmates from their
dwellings ; that it could not be esteemed grateful to God,
who had granted them their ancient habitations : neither
could it be so to any considerate man, who might dread that

• Virg. iEn. ii. 169.

4.D. 975-977 3 COUNCIL AT CALNE. 1G3

injustice as likely to befall himself, which he had seen over
take others. Hence they proceeded to clamour and rage, and
hastened to Dunstan ; the principal people, as is the custom
of the laity, exclaiming more especially, that the injury
which the canons had wrongfully suffered, ought to be re-
dressed by gentler measures. Moreover, one of them, Elfe-
rius, with more than common audacity, had even overturned
almost all the monasteries which that highly revered monk
Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester, had built throughout Mer-
cia. On this account a full synod being convened, they first
assembled at Winchester. What was the issue of the contest
of that place, other writings declare ;* relating, that the
image of our Saviour, speaking decidedly, confounded the
canons and their party. But men's minds being not yet at
rest on the subject, a council was called at Calne ; where,
when all the senators of England, the king being absent on
account of his youth, had assembled in an upper chamber,
and the business was agitated with much animosity and de-
bate ; while the weapons of harsh reproach were directed
against that firmest bulwark of the church, I mean Dunstan,
but could not shake it ; and men of every rank were earnestly
defending their several sides of the question ; the floor with
its beams and supporters gave way suddenly and fell to the
ground. All fell with it except Dunstan, who alone escaped
unhurt by standing on a single rafter which retained its posi-
tion : the rest were either killed, or subjected to lasting in-
firmity. This miracle procured the ai'chbishop peace on the
score of the canons ; all the English, both at that time and
afterwards, yielding to his sentiments.

^leanwhile king Edward conducted liimself with becoming
affection to his infant brother and his step-mother ; he retained
only the name of king, and gave them the power ; following
the footsteps of his father's piety, and giving both his attention
and his heart to good council. The woman, however, with
that hatred which a step-mother only can entertain, began to
meditate a subtle stratagem, in order that not even the title
of king might be wanting to her child, and to lay a treacher-

* When the question was agitated, whether the monks should be sup-
ported or the canons restored, the crucifix is said to have exclaimed, " Far
be it from you : you have done well ; to change again would be wrong."
See Edmer, and Osbeme, Angl. Sacra, ii. 219, 112

u2

164 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [b.ii.c.9.

ous snare for her son-in-law, which she accomplished in the
following manner. He was returning home, tired with the
chase and gasping with thirst from the exercise, while his
companions were following the dogs in different directions
as it happened, when hearing that they dwelt in a neighbour-
ing mansion, the youth proceeded thither at full speed, un-
attended and unsuspecting, as he judged of others by his own
feelings. On his arrival, alluring him to her with female
blandishment, she made him lean forward, and after saluting
him while he was eagerly drinking from the cup which had been
presented, the dagger of an attendant pierced him through.
Dreadfully wounded, with all his remaining strength he
clapped spurs to his horse in order to join his companions ;
when one foot slipping, he was dragged by the other through
the trackless paths and recesses of the wood, while the stream-
ing blood gave evidence of his death to his followers. More-
over, they then commanded him to be ingloriously interred
at Wareham ; envying him even holy ground when dead, as
they had envied him his royal dignity while living. They
now publicly manifested their extreme joy as if they had
buried his memory with his body ; but God's all-seeing eye
was there, who ennobled the innocent victim by the glor\
of miracles. So much is human outweighed by heavenl\
judgment. For there lights were shown from above ; there
the lame walked ; there the dumb resumed his faculty of
speech ; there every malady gave way to health. The fame
of this pervading all England, proclaimed the merits of the
martyr. The murderess excited by it, attempted a progress
thither ; and was already urging forward the horse she had
mounted, when she perceived the manifest anger of God ;
for the same creature which she had heretofore constantly
ridden, and which was used to outstrip the very wind in
speed, now by command of God, stood motionless. The
attendants, both with whips and clamours, urged him forward
that he might carry his noble mistress with his usual readi-
ness ; but their labour was in vain. They changed the
horse ; and the same circumstance recurred. Her obdurate
heart, though late, perceived the meaning of the miracle ;
wherefore, what she was not herself permitted to do, she
suffered to be performed by another : for that Elferius,
whom I before blamed for destroying the monasteries, repent-

A. D. 978, 979. J ETHELRED EDSIIINDr ^'

ing of his rashness, and being deeply distressed in mind, took
up the sacred corpse from its unworthy burial-place, and paid
it just and distinguished honours at Shaftesbury. He did not
escape unpunished, however, for, within a year afterwards,
he was eaten of the vermin which we call lice. Moreover,
since a mind unregulated is a torment to itself, and a restless
spirit endures its own peculiar punishment in this life, Elf-
thrida declining from her regal pride, became extremely
penitent ; so that at Werewell, for many years, she clothed
her pampered body in hair-cloth, slept at night upon the
ground without a pillow ; and mortified her flesh with every
kind of penance. She was a beautiful woman ; singularly
faithful to her husband ; but deserving punishment from the
commission of so great a crime. It is believed and commonly
reported, that from her violence to Edward, the country for
a long time after groaned under the yoke of barbarian ser-
vitude.

At Shaftesbury, truly shines a splendid proof of royal
sanctity ; for to his merit must it be attributed, that there a
numerous choir of women dedicated to God, not only en-
lighten those parts with the blaze of their religion, but even
reach the very heavens. There reside sacred virgins wholly
unconscious of contamination, there, continent widows, igno-
rant of a second flame after the extinction of the first ; in all
whose manner, graceful modesty is so blended with chastened
elegance, that nothing can exceed it. Indeed it is matter
of doubt which to applaud most, their assiduity in the service
of God or their affability in their converse with men : hence
assent is justly given to those persons who say that, the world,
which has long tottered with the weight of its sins, is entirely
supported by their prayers.

CHAP. X.

Of king Ethelred and king Edmund. [a.d. 979 — 1017.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 979, Ethelred, son ojt
Edgar and Elfthrida, obtaining the kingdom, occupied, rather
than governed it for thirty-seven years. The career of his
life is said to have been cruel in the beginning, wretched in
the middle, and disgraceful in the end. Thus, in the murdetr
to which he gave his concurrence, he was cruel ; base in his

^"^ WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Lb. n. . 10.

5ight, and effeminacy ; miserable in his death. Dunstan,
f indotid, had foretold his worthlessness, having discovered it
,T by a very filthy token : for when quite an infant, the bishops
Standing round, as he was immersed in the baptismal font,
he defiled the sacrament by a natural evacuation : at which
Dunstan, being extremely angered, exclaimed, "By God,
and his mother, this will be a sorry fellow." I have read,
that when he was ten years of age, hearing it noised abroad
that his brother was killed, he so irritated his furious mother
by his weeping, that not having a whip at hand, she beat the
little innocent with some candles she had snatched up : nor
did she desist, till herself bedewed him, nearly lifeless, with her
tears. On this account he dreaded candles during the rest of
his life, to such a degree that he would never suffer the light
of them to be brought into his presence. The nobility being
assembled by the contrivance of tis mother, and the day
appointed for Dunstan, in right of his see, to crown him,
he, though he might be ill-affected to them, forbore to resist,
being a prelate of mature age, and long versed in secular
matters. But, when placing the crown on his head he could
not refrain from giving vent with a loud voice, to that pro-
phetic spirit which he had so deeply imbibed. " Since,"
said he, " thou hast aspired to the kingdom by the death of
thy brother, hear the word of God ; thus saith the Lord
God: the sin of thy abandoned mother, and of the accom-
plices of her base design, shall not be washed out but by
much blood of the wretched inhabitants; and such evils
shall come upon the English nation as they have never suf-
fered from the time they came to England until then." Nor
was it long after, that is, in his third year, that seven pirati-
cal vessels came to Southampton, a port near Winchester,
and having ravaged the coast fled back to the sea: this I
think right to mention because many reports are circulated
among the English, concerning these vessels.

A quarrel between the king and the bishop of Rochester
had arisen from - some unknown cause ; in consequence of
which he led an army against that city. It was signified
to him by the archbishop, that he should desist from his
f-iry, and not irritate St. Andrew, under whose guardian-
ship that bishopric was ; for as he was ever ready to pardon,
80 was he equally formidable to avenge. This simple mes-

i.o. 988-994.1 ■ DUNSTAN*S PROPHECY. 167

sage being held in contempt, he graced the intimation with
money, and sent him a hundred pounds, as a bribe, that
he should raise the siege and retire. He therefore took the
money, retreated, and dismissed his army. Dunstan, aston-
ished at his avarice, sent messengers to him with the follow-
ing words, " Since you have preferred silver to God, money
to the apostle, and covetousness to me ; the evils which God
has pronounced will shortly come upon you; but they will
not come while I live, for this also hath God spoken." Soon
after the death of this holy man, which was in the tenth
year of his reign, the predictions speedily began to be ful-
filled, and the prophecies to have their consummation. For
the Danes infested every port, and made descents on all
sides with great activity, so that it was not known where
they could be opposed. But Siric, the second archbishop
after Dunstan, advised that money should repel those whom
the sword could not : thus a payment of ten thousand pounds
satisfied the avarice of the Danes. This was an infamous
precedent, and totally unworthy the character of men, to
redeem liberty, which no violence can ever extirpate from
a noble mind, by money. They now indeed abstained a
short time from their incursions ; but as soon as their
strength was recruited by rest, they returned to their old
practices. Such extreme fear had seized the English, that
there was no thought of resistance : if any indeed, mindful
of their ancient glory, made an attempt to oppose, or engage
them, they were unsuccessful, from the multitude of their
enemies, and the desertion of their alHes. The leader of
revolt was one Elfric, whom the king had appointed to
command the fleet : he, instead of trying his fortune, as he
ought, in a naval conflict, went over, on the night preceding
the battle, a base deserter to the enemy, whom he had ap-
prised, by messengers, what preparations to make ; and
though the king, for tliis perfidious crime, ordered his
son's eyes to be put out, yet he returned again, and again
deserted. All Northumbria being laid waste, the enemy
was met in battle and worsted. London was besieged, but
honourably defended by its citizens. In consequence, the
besiegers, after suffering severely and despairing of taking
the city, retired ; and devastating the whole province to the
eastward, compelled the king to pay a sum of money.

168 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c. It.

amounting to sixteen thousand pounds. Moreover, host-
ages being given, he caused their king Anlaf to come to
him, stood for him at the font, and soothing him with royal
munificence, bound him by an oath that he should never
return into England again. The evil however was not thus
put to rest. For they could never provide against their
enemies from Denmark, springing up afresh, like the heads
of the hydra. The province in the west of England, called
Devonshire, was laid waste ; the monasteries destroyed ; and
the city of Exeter set on fire : Kent was given up to plun-
der ; the metropolitan city and seat of the patriarchs, burnt ;
the holy patriarch himself, the most reverend Elphege, carried
away and bound in chains: and at last, when required to
plunder his tenants in order to ransom himself, and refusing
to do so, he was stoned, struck with a hatchet, and glorified
heaven with his soul. After he was murdered, God exalted
him ; insomuch, that when the Danes, who had been instru-
mental to his death, saw that dead wood besmeared with his
blood miraculously grew green again in one night, they ran
eagerly to kiss his remains, and to bear them on their shoul-
ders. Thus they abated their usual pride, and suifered his
sacred corpse to be carried to London. There it was honor-
ably buried ; and when taken up, ten years afterwards, free
from every taint of corruption, it conferred honour on his
cathedral at Canterbury.* To the present moment both its
blood remains fresh, and its soundness unimpaired, and it is
considered a miracle, that a carcass should be divested of
life, and yet not decay. That I may not .be tedious in
mentioning severally all the provinces which the Danes
laid waste, let it be briefly understood, that out of thirty-
two counties, which are reckoned in England, they had al-
ready overrun sixteen; the names of which I forbear to
enumerate on account of the harshness of the language.
In the meantime, the king, admirably calculated for sleep-
ing, did nothing but postpone and hesitate, and if ever he
recovered his senses enough to raise himself upon his elbow,
he quickly relapsed into his original wretchedness, either
from the oppression of indolence, or the adverseness of for-
tune. His brother's ghost also, demanding dire expiation,
tormented him. Who can tell how often he collected his
• The life of Elphege, by Osbeme, is in the Anglia Sacra, ii. 122,

4.D.1012.] THEACHERY OF EDRIC. 169

army ? how often he ordered ships to be built ? how fre-
quently he called out commanders from all quarters ? and
yet nothing was ever effected. For the army, destitute of
a leader and ignorant of military discipline, either retreated
before it came into action, or else was easily overcome.
The presence of the leader is of much avail in battle ;
courage manifested by him avails also ; experience, and
more especially, discipline avail much; and as I have said,
the want of these, in an army, must be an irreparable in-
jury to its countrymen, as well as a pitiable object of con-
tempt to an enemy. For soldiers are a kind of men, who,
if not restrained before the battle, are eager to plunder ; and
if not animated during it, are prone to flight. When, the
ships, built for the defence of the sea-coast, were lying at
anchor, a tempest suddenly arising dashed them together, and
rendered them useless by the destruction of their tackling :
a few, fitted from the wrecks of the others, were, by the
attack of one Wulnod, whom the king had banished, either
sunk, or burnt, and consequently disappointed the expecta-
tions of all England. The commanders, if ever they met
to confer, immediately chose different sides, and rarely or
never united in one good plan ; for they gave more attention
to private quarrels, than to public exigences : and, if in the
midst of pressing danger, they had resolved on any eligible
secret design, it was immediately communicated to the Danes
by traitors. For besides Elfric, the successor of EHere who
had murdered the late king, there was one Edric, a man
infamously skil'sd in such transactions, whom the king had
made governor of the Mercians. This fellow was the re-
fuse of mankind, the reproach of the English ; an abandoned
glutton, a cunning miscreant ; who had become opulent, not
by nobility, but by specious language and impudence. This
artful dissembler, capable of feigning anytliing, was accus-
tomed, by pretended fidelity, to scent out the king's designs,
that he might treacherously divulge them. Often, when
despatched to the enemy as the mediator of peace, he in-
flamed them to battle. His perfidy was sufficiently con-
spicuous in this king's reign, but much more so in the next ;
of which I shall have occasion to speak hereafter. Ulf kytel,
earl of the East Angles, was the only person who, at that
time, resisted the invaders with any degree of spirit; inso*

170 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n, c. 10.

much that although the enemy had nominally the victory,
yet the conquerors suffered much more than the conquered :*
nor were the barbarians ashamed to confess this truth, while
they so frequently bewailed that victory. The valour of the
earl was more conspicuously eminent, after the death of
Ethelred, in that battle which mowed down the whole flower
of the province; where, when he was surrounded from the
rear, deeming it disgraceful to fly, he gave fresh confidence
to the king by his blood ; but this happened some time
after. t At this juncture, that the measure of king Ethelred's
misery might be full, a famine ravaged all England, and
those whom war had spared perished from want. The
enemy over-ran the country with such freedom, that they
would carry off their booty to their ships through a space of
fifty miles, without fearing any resistance from the inhabit-
ants. In the midst of these pressing evils, the expedient of
buying off hostilities by money was again debated and
adopted; for first twenty-four, and soon after, thirty thou-
sand pounds were given to the Danes : with what advantage,
succeeding times will show. To me, indeed, deeply reflect-
ing upon the subject, it seems wonderful, how a man, as we
have been taught to suppose, neither very foolish, nor exces-
sively heartless, should pass his life in the wretched en-
durance of so many calamities. Should any one ask me the
reason of this, I could not easily answer, except by saying,
that the revolt of the generals proceeded from the haughti-
ness of the king. Their perfidy has been spoken of before ;
I now hasten to instances of his violence, which was so
intolerable, that he spared not even his own relations. For,
besides the EngUsh, whom he despoiled of their hereditary
possessions without any cause, or defrauded of their property
for supposititious crimes: besides the Danes, whom, from
light suspicion only, he ordered to be all butchered on the
same day throughout England ; which was a dreadful spec-
tacle to behold; each one compelled to betray his dearest
guests, now become dearer from the tenderest connexions of

• Ulfkytel attacked the Danes near Thetford, a.d. 1004, and though
compelled to retreat, yet occasioned so severe a loss to the enemy, that
they are said to have acknowledged that they had never endured a more
powerful attack. See Flor. Wigom., and the Saxon Chronicle, a.d. 1004.

t At Asaingdon in Essex, a.d. lOlG.

A.D. 991.] EPISTLE OF POPE JOHN XV. 171

affinity, and to cut short their embraces with the sword : yet
besides all this, I say, he was so inconstant towards his wife,
that he scarcely deigned her his bed, and degraded the royal
dignity by his intercourse with harlots. She too, a woman,
conscious of her high descent, became indignant at her hus-
band, as she found herself endeared to him neither by her
blameless modesty nor her fruitfulness ; for she had borne
him two children, Elfred and Edward. She was the daugh-
ter of Richard, earl of Normandy, the son of William, who,
after his father, presided over that earldom for fifty-two
years, and died in the twenty-eighth year of this king. He
lies at the monastery of Fescamp, which he augmented with
certain revenues, and which he adorned with a monastic
order, by means of William, formerly abbat of Dijon. Rich-
ard was a distinguished character, and had also often
harassed Ethelred : which, when it became known at Rome,
the holy see, not enduring that two Christians should be at
enmity, sent Leo, bishop of Treves, into England, to restore
peace : the epistle describing this legation was as follows : —
" John the fifteenth, pope of the holy Roman church, to
all faithful people, health. Be it known to all the faitliful of
the holy mother church, and our children spiritual and secu-
lar, dispersed through the several climates of the world, that
inasmuch as we had been informed by many of the enmity
between Ethelred, king of the West- Saxons, and Richard
the marquis, and were grieved sorely at this, on account of
our spiritual children ; taking, therefore, wholesome counsel,
we summoned one of our legates, Leo, bishop of the holy
church of Treves, and sent him with our letters, admonish-
ing them, that they should return from their ungodliness.
He, passing vast spaces, at length crossed the sea, and, on
the day of the Lord's nativity, came into the presence of the
said king ; whom, having saluted on our part, he delivered
to him the letters we had sent. And all the faithful people
of his kingdom, and senators of either order, being sum-
moned, he granted, for love and fear of God Almighty, and
of St. Peter, the chief of the apostles, and on account of our
paternal admonition, the firmest peace for all his sons and
daughters, present and future, and all his faithful people,
without deceit. On which account he sent Edelsin, prelate
of the holy church of Sherborne, and Leofstan, son of Alf-

172 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, [Bii.c.lft

wold, and Edelnoth, son of Wulstan, who passed the mari-
time boundaries, and came to Richard, the said marquis.
He, peaceably receiving our admonitions, and hearing the
determination of the said king, readily confirmed the peace
for his sons and daughters, present and future, and for all
his faithful people, with this reasonable condition, that if any
of their subjects, or they themselves, should commit any
injustice against each other, it should be duly redressed; and
that peace should remain for ever unshaken and confirmed
by the oath of both parties : on the part of king Ethelred, to
wit, Edelsin, prelate of the holy church of Sherborne ; Leof-
stan, the son of Alfwold ; Edelnoth, the son of Wulstan. On
the part of Richard, Roger, the bishop; Rodolph, son of
Hugh ; Truteno, the son of Thurgis.

" Done at Rouen, on the kalends of March, in the year of
our Lord 991, the fourth of the indiction. Moreover, of the
king's subjects, or of his enemies, let Richard receive none,
nor the king of his, vrithout their respective seals."

After the death of this John, Gregory succeeded ; after
whom came John XVI. ; then Silvester, also called G-erbert,
about whbm it will not be absurd, in my opinion, if I com-
mit to writing those facts which are generally related about
him.* Born in Gaul, from a lad he grew up a monk at
Flory; afterwards, when he arrived at the double path of
Pythagoras,! either disgusted at a monastic life or seized by
lust of glory, he fled by night into Spain, chiefly designing
to learn astrology and other sciences of that description from
the Saracens. Spain, formerly for many years possessed by
the Romans, in the time of the emperor Honorius, fell under
the power of the Goths. The Goths were Arians down to
the days of St. Gregory, when that people were united to
the Catholic church by Leander bishop of Seville, and by
king Recared, brother of Hermengildus,^ whom his father

• In several of the manuscripts there is an omission of several words
ivhich has made nonsense of the whole paragraph. Its restoration is due
to Mr. Hardy, in whose edition of William of Malmesbiuy it is given cor-
rectly from MS. authority.

t That is, when he had attained that age when a man settles, or chooses
his future line of conduct ; or, to years of discretion. This Pythagoras re-
presented by the form of the letter Y, or the Greek gamma.

X Hermenegild the eldest son of Leovigild. He was invested by ni«

A.D.1002.] ISIDORE GERBERT. l'^8

slew on Easter night for professing the true faith. To Lean-
der succeeded Isidore,* celebrated for learning and sanctity,
whose body purchased, for its weight in gold, Aldefonsus
king of Gallicia in our times conveyed to Toledo. The Sa-
racens, who had subjugated the Goths, being conquered in
their turn by Charles the Great, lost Gallicia and Lusitania,
the largest provinces of Spain ; but to this day they possess
the southern parts. As the Christians esteem Toledo, so do
they hold Hispalis, which in common they call Seville, to be
the capital of the kingdom ; there practising divinations and
incantations, after the usual mode of that nation. Gerbert
then, as I have related, coming among these people, satisfied
his desires. There he surpassed Ptolemy with the astrolabe, f
and Alcandraeus in astronomy, and Julius Firmicus in judi-
cial astrology ; there he learned what the singing and the
flight of birds portended ; there he acquired the art of call-
ing up spirits from hell : in short, whatever, hurtful or salu-
tary, human curiosity has discovered. There is no necessity
to speak of his progress in the lawful sciences of arithmetic
and astronomy, music and geometry, which he imbibed so
thoroughly as to show they were beneath his talents, and
which, with great perseverance, he revived in Gaul, where
they had for a long time been wholly obsolete. Being cer-
tainly the first who seized on the abacus J from the Saracens,

father with the royal diadem and the principality of Boetica, and contracted
an alliance with Ingnndis, daughter of Sigebert, king of Austrasia. Ingun-
dis was persecuted, and at length killed by her husband's mother, on
account of her Catholic faith. Leander, archbishop of Seville, easily per-
suaded Hermenegild to resent the treatment of his bride, and assisted him
in an attempt to dethrone his father. Hermenegild was taken and sen-
tenced to death for his rebellion. The inflexible constancy, with which he
refused to accept the Arian communion, from which he had been con-
verted by Leander, as the price of his safety, procured for him the honour
of being enrolled among the saints of the Romish church. — Hardy.

• Isidore was bishop of Seville in the sixth century.

+ An instrument for making celestial observations. The reader who is
conversant with the Arabian Nights' Entertainments Mall remember its be-
ing frequently mentioned in that amusing book.

t The abacus was a counting table : here it seems used metaphorically
for arithmetic, Gerbert having written a treatise on arithmetic with that title.
The authors of the Hist. Litt. de la France, t. vi. understand him literally, as
stealing a book containing the principles of the science, and then con-
found this supposed beok with the conjuring treatise mentioned below.
They also seem very much displeased with Malmesbury for relatiag these

174 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [■• n. c 10.

he gave rules which are scarcely understood even by laborious
computers. He resided with a certain philosopher of that
sect, whose good will he had obtained, first by great liberal-
ity, and then by promises. The Saracen had no objection to
sell his knowledge ; he frequently associated with him ;
Would talk with him of matters at times serious, at others
trivial, and lend him books to transcribe. There was how-
ever one volume, containing the knowledge of his whole art,
which he could never by any means entice him to lend. In
consequence Gerbert was inflamed with anxious desire to
obtain this book at any rate, " for we ever press more eagerly
towards what is forbidden, and that which is denied is always
esteemed most valuable."* Trying, therefore, the effect of
entreaty, he besought him for the love of God, and by his
friendship; offered him many things, and promised him
more. When this failed he tried a nocturnal stratagem.
He plied him with wine, and, with the help of his daughter,
who connived at the attempt through the intimacy which
Gerbert's attentions had procured, stole the book from under
his pillow and fled. Waking suddenly, the Saracen pursued
the fugitive by the direction of the stars, in which art he
was well versed. The fugitive too, looking back, and disco-
vering his danger by means of the same art, hid himself under
a wooden bridge which was near at hand ; clinging to it, and
hanging in such a manner as neither to touch earth nor
water.f In this manner the eagerness of the pursuer being
eluded, he returned home. Gerbert, then quickening his
pace, arrived at the sea-coast. Here, by his incantations, he
called up the devil, and made an agreement with him to be
under his dominion for ever, if he would defend him from
the Saracen, who was again pursuing, and transport him to
the opposite coast : this was accordingly done.

Probably some may regard all this as a fiction, because
the vulgar are used to undermine the fame of scholars, say-
ing that the man who excels in any admirable science, holds
converse with the devil. Of this, Boethius, in his book, On
tales of their countryman, and attribute them to cardinal Benno ; but there
is nothing of this kind in his work published by Goldastus, and in Brown's
Fasciculus, t. i.

• Ovid. Amor. iii. iv. 1 7.

t This was perhaps a necessary precaution, according to the rules of the
necromantic art.

A.D. 1002.J ROBERT, KING OF FRANCE. 175

the Consolation of Philosophy, complains ; and affirms, that
he had the discredit of such practices on account of his
ardent love of literature, as if he had polluted his knowledge
by detestable arts for the sake of ambition. " It was hardly
likely," says he, " that I, whom you dress up with such ex-
cellence as almost to make me like God, should catch at the
protection of the vilest spirits ; but it is in this point that
we approach nearest to a connection with them, in that we
are instructed in your learning, and educated in your cus-
toms." So far Boethius. The singular choice of his death
confirms me in the belief of his league with the devil ; else,
when dying, as we shall relate hereafter, why should he,
gladiator-like, maim his own person, unless conscious of some
unusual crime ? Accordingly, in an old volume, which acci-
dentally fell into my hands, wherein the names and years of
all the popes are entered, I found written to the following
purport, " Silvester, who was also called Gerbert, ten months ;
this man made a shameful end."

Gerbert, returning into Gaul, became a public professor in
the schools, and had as brother pliilosophers and companions
of his studies, Constantine, abbat of the monastery of St.
Maximin, near Orleans, to whom he addressed the Rules of
the Abacus ;* and Ethelbald bishop, as they say, of Winte-
burg, who himself gave proof of ability, in a letter whi^h
he wrote to Gerbert, on a question concerning the diameter
in Macrobius,f and in some other points. He had as pupils,
of exquisite talents and noble origin, Robert, son of Hugh
surnamed Capet ; and Otho, son of the emperor Otho. Ro-
bert, afterwards king of France, made a suitable return to
his master, and appointed him archbishop of Rheims. In
that church are still extant, as proofs of his science, a clock
constructed on mechanical principles: and an hydraulic
organ, in which the air escaping in a surprising manner, by
the force of heated water, fills the cavity of the instrument,
and the brazen pipes emit modulated tones through the mul-
tifarious apertures. The king himself, too, was well skilled
in sacred music, and in this and many other respects, a libe-
ral benefactor to the church : moreover, he composed that
beautiful sequence, "The grace of the Holy Spirit be with

* His treatise so called. t Macrob. in Somn. Scip. i. 20.

176 WILtlAM OP MALMESBURT. Lb. ii. c. 10.

US ;" and the response, " He hath joined togethtjr Judah and
Jerusalem;" together with more, which I should have' plea-
sure in relating, were it not irksome to others to hear. Otho,
emperor of Italy after his father, made Gerbert archbishop
of Kavenna, and finally Roman pontiff. He followed up his
fortune so successfully by the assistance of the devil, that he
left nothing unexecuted which he had once conceived. The
treasures formerly buried by the inhabitants, he disco-
vered by the art of necromancy, and removing the rubbish,
applied to his own lusts. Thus viciously disposed are the
wicked towards God, and thus they abuse his patience,
though he had rather that they repent than perish. At last,
he found where his master would stop, and as the proverb
says, " in the same manner as one crow picks out another
crow's eyes," while endeavouring to oppose his attempts with
art like his own.

There was a statue in the Campus Martins near Rome, I
know not whether of brass or iron, having the forefinger of the
right hand extended, and on the head was written, " Strike
here." The men of former times supposing this should be
understood as if they might find a treasure there, had bat-
tered the harmless statute by repeated strokes of a hatchet.
But Gerbert convicted them of error by solving the problem
in a very different manner. Marking where the shadow of
the finger fell at noon-day, when the sun was on the meridian,
he there placed a post ; and at night proceeded thither, attended
only by a servant carrying a lanthorn. The earth opening
by means of his accustomed arts, displayed to them a spacious
entrance. They see before them a vast palace with golden
walls, golden roofs, every thing of gold ; golden soldiers
amusing themselves, as it were, with golden dice ; a king of
the same metal, at table with his queen ; delicacies set before
them, and servants waiting ; vessels of great weight and
value, where the sculpture surpassed nature herself. In the
inmost part of the mansion, a carbuncle of the first quality,
though small in appearance, dispelled the darkness of night.
In the opposite corner stood a boy, holding a bow bent,
ftnd the arrow drawn to the head. While the exquisite
art of every thing ravished the eyes of the spectators,
there was nothing which might be handled though it might
be seen : for immediately, if any one stretched forth liis hand

A.D. 1002.] POPB SILVESTER. 177

to touch any thing, all th.ese figures appeared to rush forward
and repel such presumption. Alarmed at this, Gerbert re-
pressed his inclination : but not so the servant. He en-
deavoured to snatch off from a table, a knife of admirable
workmanship ; supposing that in a booty of such magnitude,
so small a theft could hardly be discovered. In an instant,^
the figures all starting up with loud clamour, the boy let fly
his arrow at the carbuncle, and in a moment all was in dark-
ness ; and if the servant had not, by the advice of his master,
made the utmost despatch in throwing back the knife, they
would have both suffered severely. In this manner, their
boundless avarice unsatiated, they departed, the lantern
directing their steps. That he performed such things by un-
lawful devices is the generally received opinion. Yet, how-
ever, if any one diligently investigate the truth, he will see
that even Solomon, to whom Grod himself had given wisdom,
was not ignorant of these arts : for, as Josephus relates,* he,
in conjunction with his father, buried vast treasures in coffers,
which were hidden, as he says, in a kind of necromantic
manner, under ground: neither was Hyrcanus, celebrated
for his skill in prophecy and his valour ; who, to ward off
the distress of a siege, dug up, by the same art, three thousand
talents of gold from the sepulchre of David, and gave part
of them to the besiegers ; with the remainder building an
hospital for the reception of strangers. But Herod, who
would make an attempt of the same kind, with more pre-
sumption than knowledge, lost in consequence many of his
attendants, by an eruption of internal fire. Besides, when
I hear the Lord Jesus saying, " My father worketh hitherto,
and I work ;" I believe, that He, who gave to Solomon power
over demons to such a degree, as the same historian declares,
that he relates there were men, even in his time, who could
eject them from persons possessed, by applying to the nostrils
of the patient a ring having the impression pointed out by
Solomon : I believe, I say, that he could give, also, the same
science to this man : but I do not affirm that he did give it.

But leaving these matters to my readers, I shall relate
what I recollect having heard, when I was a boy, from a cer-
tain monk of our house, a native of Aquitaine, a man id

• Josephus Antiq. Jud. 1. ^ii. c. 15. viii. 2>

178 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. ^b. n. c 1«.

years, and a physician by profession. " When I was seven
years old,'' said he, " despising the mean circumstances of my
father, a poor citizen of Barcelona, I surmounted the snowy
Alps, and went into Italy. There, as was to be expected in a
boy of that age, having to seek my daily bread in great distress,
I paid more attention to the food of my mind than of my
body. As I grew up I eagerly viewed many of the wonders
of that country and impressed them on my memory. Among
others I saw a perforated mountain, beyond which the in-
habitants supposed the treasures of Octavian were hidden.
Many persons were reported to have entered into these
caverns for the purpose of exploring them, and to have there
perished, being bewildered by the intricacy of the ways. But,
as hardly any apprehension can restrain avaricious minds
from their intent, I, with my companions, about twelve in
number, meditated an expedition of this nature, either for
the sake of plunder, or through curiosity. Imitating there-
fore the ingenuity of Dsedalus, who brought Theseus out of
the labyrinth by a conducting clue, we, also carrying a large
ball of thread, fixed a small post at the entrance. Tying the
end of the thread to it, and lighting lanterns, lest dark-
ness, as well as intricacy, should obstruct us, we unrolled the
clue ; and fixing a post at every mile, we proceeded on our
journey along the caverns of the mountain, in the best
manner we were able. Every thing was dark, and full of
horrors ; the bats, flitting from holes, assailed our eyes and
faces : the path was narrow, and made dreadful on the left-
hand by a precipice, with a river flowing beneath it. We
saw the way strewed with bare bones : we wept over the
carcasses of men yet in a state of putrefaction, who, induced
by hopes similar to our own, had in vain attempted, after
their entrance, to return. After some time, however, and
many alarms, arriving at the farther outlet, we beheld a lake
of softly murmuring waters, where the wave came gently
rolling to the shores. A bridge of brass united the opposite
banks. Beyond the bridge were seen golden horses of great
size, mounted by golden riders, and all those other things
which are related of Gerbert. The mid-day beams of
Phoebus darting upon them, with redoubled splendour, daz-
zled the eyes of the beholders. Seeing these things at a dis-
tance, we should have been delighted with a nearer view.

a D 1002.J THE AQUITANIAN MONK. 179

meaning, if fate would permit, to carry off some portion of
the precious metal. Animating each other in turn, we pre-
pared to pass over the lake. All our efforts, however, were
vain : for as soon as one of the company, more forward than
the rest, had put his foot on the hither edge of the bridge,
immediately, wonderful to hear, it became depressed, and the
farther edge was elevated, bringing forward a rustic of brass
with a brazen club, with which, dashing the waters, he so
clouded the air, as completely to obscure both the day and
the heavens. The moment the foot was withdrawn, peace
was restored. The same was tried by many of us, with
exactly the same result. Despairing, then, of getting over,
we stood there some little time ; and, as long as we could, at
least glutted our eyes with the gold. Soon after returning
by the guidance of the thread, we found a silver dish, which
being cut in pieces and distributed in morsels only irritated
the thirst of our avidity without allaying it. Consulting
together the next day, we went to a professor, of that time,
who was said to know the unutterable name of God. When
questioned, he did not deny his knowledge, adding, that, so
great was the power of that name, that no magic, no witch-
craft could resist it. Hiring him at a great price, fasting
and confessed, he led us, prepared in the same manner, to a
fountain. Taking up some water from it in a silver vessel,
he silently traced the letters with his fingers, until we under-
stood by our eyes, what was unutterable with our tongues.
We then went confidently to the mountain, but we found the
farther outlet beset, as I believe, with devils, hating, forsooth,
the name of God because it was able to destroy their inven-
tions. In the morning a Jew-necromancer came to me, ex-
cited by the report of our attempt ; and, having inquired
into the matter, when he heard of our want of enterprise,
" You shall see," said he, venting his spleen with loud laugh-
ter, "how far the power of my art can prevail." And
immediately entering the mountain, he soon after came out
again, bringing, as a proof of his having passed the lake,
many things which I had noted beyond it : indeed some of that
most precious dust, which turned every thing that it touched
into gold : not that it was really so, but only retained this
appearance until washed with water ; for nothing effected
by necromancy can, when put into water, deceive the sight

n2

180 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Ib. ir. c. 10.

of the iK^.holders. The truth of my assertion is confirmed
by a circumstance which happened about the same time.

" There were in a public street leading to Rome, two old
women, the most drunken and filthy beings that can be con-
ceived ; both living in the same hut, and both practising
witchcraft. If any lone stranger happened to come in their
way, they used to make him appear either a horse, or a sow,
or some other animal ; expose him for sale to dealers, and
gluttonize with the money. By chance, on a certain night,
taking in a lad to lodge who got his livelihood by stage-
dancing, they turned him into an ass : and so possessed a
creature extremely advantageous to their interests, who
caught the eyes of such as passed by the strangeness of his
postures. In whatever mode the old woman commanded,
the ass began to dance, for he retained his understanding,
though he had lost the power of speech. In this manner
the women had accumulated much money ; for there was,
daily, a large concourse of people, from all parts, to see the
tricks of the ass. The report of this induced a rich neigh-
bour to purchase the quadruped for a considerable sum ; and
he was warned, that, if he would have him as a constant
dancer, he must keep him from water. The person who had
charge of him rigidly fulfilled his orders. A long time
elapsed ; the ass sometimes gratified his master by his reeling
motions, and sometimes entertained his friends with his tricks.
But, however, as in time all things surfeit, he began at length
to be less cautiously observed. In consequence of this
negligence, breaking his halter, he got loose, plunged into a
pool hard by, and rolling for a long time in the water, re
covered his human form. The keeper, inquiring of all ho
met, and pursuing him by the track of his feet, asked him if
he had seen an ass ; he replied that himself had been an ass,
but was now a man : and related the whole transaction. The
servant astonished told it to his master, and the master to
pope Leo, the holiest man in our times. The old women
were convicted, and confessed the fact. The pope doubting
this, was assured by Peter Damian, a learned man, that it
was not wonderful that such things should be done : he pro-
duced the example of Simon Magus,* who caused Faustini-

In the fabulous Itinerary of St. Peter, falsely attributed to Clemens
luomanus, Simon is represented as causing Faustinianus to assume his

A.D. 1050.] DEATH OF SILVESTER. 181

anus to assume the figure of Simon, and to become an object
of terror to his sons, and thus rendered his holiness better
skilled in such matters for the future."

I have inserted this narrative of the Aquitanian to the in
tent that what is reported of Gerbert should -not seem
wonderful to any person ; which is, that he cast, for his own
purposes, the head of a statue, by a certain inspection of the
stars when all the planets were about to begin their courses,
which spake not unless spoken to, but then pronounced the
truth, either in the affirmative or negative. For instance,
when Gerbert would say, " Shall I be pope ?" the statute
would reply, " Yes." " Am I to die, ere I sing mass at
Jerusalem ?" " No." They relate, that he was so much
deceived by this ambiguity, that he thought nothing of
repentance : for when would he think of going to Jerusalem,
to accelerate his own death ? Nor did he foresee that at Rome
there is a church called Jerusalem, that is, " the vision of
peace," because whoever flies thither finds safety, whatsoever
crime he may be guilty of. We have heard, that this was
called an asylum in the very infancy of the city, because
Romulus, to increase the number of his subjects, had ap-
pointed it to be a refuge for the guilty of every description.
The pope sings mass there on three Sundays, which are
called " The station at Jerusalem." Wherefore upon one of
those days Gerbert, preparing himself for mass, was suddenly
struck with sickness ; which increased so that he took to his
bed : and consulting his statue, he became convinced of his
delusion and of his approacldng death. Calling, therefore,
the cardinals together, he lamented his crimes for a long
space of time. They, being struck with sudden fear were
unable to make any reply, whereupon he began to rave, and
losing his reason through excess of pain, commanded him-
self to be maimed, and cast forth piecemeal, saying, " Let
him have the service of my limbs, who before sought their
homage ; for my mind never consented to that abominable
oath."

And since I have wandered from my subject, I think it
may not be unpleasant to relate what took place in Saxony

coun*^enance, by rubbing his face with a medicated unguent, to the great
alarm of his sons, who mistook him for Simon, and fled imtU recall^ bj
St. Peter.

182 WILLLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. ii. c. 10.

in the time of this king, in the year of our Lord 1012, and
is not so generally known. It is better to dilate on such
matters than to dwell on Ethelred's indolence and calamities :
and it will be more pleasing certainly, and nearer the truth,
if I subjoin it in the original language of the person who was
a sufferer, than if I had clothed it in my own words. Besides,
I think it ornamental to a work, that the style should be
occasionally varied.

" I Ethelbert,* a sinner, even were I desirous of concealing
the divine judgment which overtook me, yet the tremor of
my limbs would betray me ; wherefore I shall relate circum-
stantially how this happened, that all may know the heavy
punishment due to disobedience. We were, on the eve of
our Lord's nativity, in a certain town of Saxony, in which
was the church of Magnus the martyr, and a priest named
Robert had begun the first mass. I was in the churchyard
with eighteen companions, fifteen men and three women,
dancing, and singing profane songs to such a degree that I
interrupted the priest, and our voices resounded amid the
sacred solemnity of the mass. Wherefore, having commanded
us to be silent, and not being attended to, he cursed us in the
following words, ' May it please God and St. Magnus, that
you may remain singing in that manner for a whole year.'
His words had their effect. The son of John the priest
seized his sister who was singing with us, by the arm, and
immediately tore it from her body ; but not a drop of blood
flowed out. She also remained a whole year with us, dancing
and singing. The rain fell not upon us ; nor did cold, nor
heat, nor hunger, nor thirst, nor fatigue assail us : we neither
wore our clothes nor shoes, but we kept on singing as though
we had been insane. First we sank into the ground up to
our knees : next to our thighs ; a covering was at length, by
the permission of G-od, built over us to keep off the rain.
When a year had elapsed, Herbert, bishop of the city of
Cologne, released us from the tie wherewith our hands were
bound, and reconciled us before the altar of St. Magnus.
The daughter of the priest, with the other two women, died
immediately ; the rest of us slept three whole days and
nights : some died afterwards, and are famed for miracles :
the remainder betray their punishment by the trembling of
• Other MSS. read Otbert.

A.D. 1002.] THE ARCHBISHOP OF COLOGNE. 183

their limbs. This narrative was given to us by the lord
Peregrine, the successor of Herbert, in the year of our Lord
1013."

In that city, which formerly was called Agrippina, from
Agrippa the son-in-law of Augustus, but afterwards named
Colonia by the emperor Trajan, because being there created
emperor he founded in it a colony of Roman citizens ; in this
city, I repeat, there was a certain bishop, famed for piety,
though to a degree hideous in his person ; of whom I shall re-
late one miracle, which he predicted when dying, after having
first recorded what a singular chance elevated him to such an
eminent station. The emperor of that country going to
hunt on Quinquagesima Sunday, came alone, for his com-
companions were dispersed, to the edge of a wood, where
this rural priest, deformed and almost a monster, had a
church. The emperor, feigning himself a soldier, humbly
begs a mass, which the priest immediately begins. The
other in the meantime was revolving in his mind why God,
from whom all beautiful things proceed, should suffer so de-
formed a man to administer his sacraments. Presently,
when that verse in the tract occurred, " Know ye that the
Lord himself is God," the priest looked behind him, to chide
the inattention of an assistant, and said with a louder voice,
as if in reply to the emperor's thoughts, " He made us ; and
not we ourselves." Struck with this expression, the emperor
esteeming him a prophet, exalted him, though unwilling and
reluctant, to the archbishopric of Cologne, which, when he
had once assumed, he dignified by his exemjflary conduct ;
kindly encouraging those who did well, and branding with
the stigma of excommunication such as did otherwise, with-
out respect of persons. The inhabitants of that place pro-
claim a multitude of his impartial acts; one of which the
reader will peruse in that abbreviated form which my work
requires. In a monastery of nuns in that city, there was a
certain virgin who had there grown up, more by the kind-
ness of her parents than through any innate wish for a holy
life : this girl, by the attraction of her beauty and her affable
language to all, allured many lovers; but while others,
through fear of God or the censure of the world, restrained
their desires, there was one who, excited to wantonness bj
the extent of his wealth and the nobility of his descent,

184 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [». n. c. 10,

broke through the bounds of law and of justice, and de-
spoiled her of her virginity ; and carrying her off kept her
as his lawful wife. Much time elapsed while the abbess en-
treated, and his friends admonished him not to persevere in
so dreadful a crime. Turning a deaf ear, however, to his
advisers, he continued as immoveable as a rock. By chance
at this time the prelate was absent, occupied in business at
Rome; but on his return the circumstance was related to
him. He commands the sheep to be returned to the fold
directly ; and after much altercation the woman was restored
to the monastery. Not long after, watching an opportunity
when the bishop was absent, she was again carried away.
Excommunication was then denounced against the delinquent,
so that no person could speak to, or associate with him.
This, however, he held in contempt, and retired to one of his
estates afar off, not to put the command in force, but to elude
its power : and there, a turbulent and powerful man, he lived
in company with his excommunicated paramour. But when it
pleased God to take the bishop to himself, and he was lying
in extreme bodily pain upon his bed, the neighbours flocked
around him that they might partake the final benediction of
this holy man. The offender alone not daring to appear,
prevailed on some persons to speak for him. The moment
the bishop heard his name he groaned, and then, I add his
very words, spoke to the following effect, " If that wretched
man shall desert that accursed woman, he shall be absolved ;
but if he persist, let him be ready to give account before
God, the following year, at the very day and hour on which
I shall depart : moreover, you will see me expire when the
bell shall proclaim the sixth hour." Nor were his words
vain ; for he departed at the time which he had predicted ;
and the other, together with his mistress, at the expiration
of the year, on the same day, and at the same hour, was
killed by a stroke of lightning.

But king Ethelred, after the martyrdom of Elphege, as we
have related, gave his see to a bishop named Living.* More-
over, Turkill, the Dane, who had been the chief cause of the
archbishop*s murder, had settled in England, and held the
East Angles in subjection. For the other Danes, exacting

♦ " Living, formerly called Elfstan, was translated from Wells to
Canterbury in the year 101^ he died, 12th June, 1020."— Hardy.

A,D..1013.J MASSACRE OF THE DANES. 185

from the English a tribute of eight thousand pounds, had
distributed themselves, as best suited their convenience, in
the towns, or in the country ; and fifteen of their ships, with
the crews, had entered into the king's service. In the
meantime Thurkill sent messengers to Sweyn, king of Den-
mark, inviting him to come to England ; telling him that the
land was rich and fertile, but the king a driveller ; and that,
wholly given up to wine and women, his last thoughts were
those of war : that in consequence he was hateful to his own
people and contemptible to foreigners : that the commanders
were jealous of each other, the people weak, and that they
would fly the field, the moment the onset was sounded.

Sweyn* was naturally cruel, nor did he require much
persuasion ; preparing his ships, therefore, he hastened his
voyage. Sandwich was the port he made, principally de-
signing to avenge his sister Gunhilda. This woman, who
possessed considerable beauty, had come over to England
with her husband Palling, a powerful nobleman, and by em-
bracing Christianity, had made herself a pledge of the Dan-
ish peace. In his ill-fated fury, Edric had commanded her
though proclaiming that the shedding her blood would bring
great evil on the whole kingdom, to be beheaded with the other
Danes. She bore her death with fortitude ; and she neither
turned pale at the moment, nor, when dead, and her blood ex-
hausted, did she lose her beauty ; her husband was murdered
before her face, and her son, a youth of amiable disposition,
was transfixed with four spears. Sweyn then proceeding
through East Anglia against the Northumbrians, received their
submission without resistance : not indeed, that the native
ardour of their minds, which brooked no master, had grown
cool, but because Utred, their prince, was the first to give ex-
ample of desertion. On their submission all the other people
who inhabit England on the north, gave him tribute and hos-
tages. Coming southward, he compelled those of Oxford and
Winchester, to obey his commands ; the Londoners alone, pro-
tecting their lawful sovereign within their walls, shut their

* Malmesbury seems to have fallen into some confusion here. The
murder of the Danes took place on St. Brice*s day, a.d. 1002, and accord-
ingly we find Sweyn infesting England in 1 003 and the following year
{see Saxon Chronicle) : but this his second arrival took place, a.d. 1013 :
BO that the avenging the miu-der of his sister Gunhilda could hardlv be tha
object of his preseil. attack.

186 • WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 10.

gates against him. The Danes, on the other hand, assailing
with greater ferocity, nurtured their fortitude with the hope
of fame; the townsmen were ready to rush on death for
freedom, thinking they ought never to be forgiven, should
they desert their king, who had committed his hfe to their
charge. While the conflict was raging fiercely on either
side, victory befriended the juster cause; for the citizens
made wonderful exertions, every one esteeming it glorious to
show his unwearied alacrity to his prince, or even to die for
him. Part of the enemy were destroyed, and part drowned
in the river Thames, because in their headlong fury, they
had not sought a bridge. With his shattered army Sweyn
retreated to Bath, where Ethelmer, governor of the western
district, with his followers, submitted to him. And, although
all England was already bending to his dominion, yet not
even now would the Londoners have yielded, had not Ethel-
red withdrawn his presence from among them. For being a
man given up to indolence, and, through consciousness of his
own misdeeds, supposing none could be faithful to him, and
at the same time wishing to escape the difficulties of a battle
and a siege, he by his departure left them to their own exer-
tions. However, they applied the best remedy they could to
their exigencies, and surrendered after the example of their
countrymen. They were men laudable in the extreme, and
such as Mars himself would not have disdained to encounter,
had they possessed a competent leader. Even while they
were supported by the mere shadow of one, they risked
every chance of battle, nay even a siege of several months'
continuance. He in the meantime giving fresh instance
of his constitutional indolence, fled from the city, and by
secret journeys came to Southampton, whence he passed over
to the Isle of Wight. Here he addressed those abbats and
bishops who, even in such difficulties, could not bring them-
selves to desert their master, to the following effect: "That
they must perceive in what dreadful state his affairs, and
those of his family were ; that he was banished from his pa-
ternal throne by the treachery of his generals, and that he,
in whose hands their safety was formerly vested, now re-
quired the assistance of others ; that though lately a monarch
and a potentate, he was now an outcast and a fugitive ; a
melancholy change for him, because it certainly is more toler-

A.©. 1013.] ETHELREd's 'CONFERENCE. 187

able never to have had power, than to have lost it when
possessed ; and more especially disgraceful to the English, as
this instance of deserting their prince would be noised
tliroughout the world; that through mere regard to him
they had exposed their houses and property to plunderers,
and, unprovided, taken to a voluntary flight ; food was mat-
ter of difficulty to all; many had not even clothing; he
commended their fidelity indeed, but still could find no secu-
rity from it ; the country was now so completely subdued,
the coast so narrowly watched, that there was no escape un-
attended with danger : that they should, therefore, confer to-
gether, what was to be done : were they to remain, greater
peril was to be apprehended from their countrymen, than
from their enemies, for perhaps they might purchase the
favour of their new master by joining to distress them ; and
certainly to be killed by an enemy was to be ascribed to fortune,
to be betrayed by a fellow citizen was to be attributed to want of
exertion ; were they to fly to distant nations, it would be with the
loss of honour ; if to those who knew them, the dread would
be, lest their dispositions should take a tinge from their reverse
of fortune; for many great and illustrious men had been
killed on similar occasions ; but, however, he must make the
experiment, and sound the inclinations of Richard, duke of
Normandy, who, if he should kindly receive his sister and
nephews, might probably not unwillingly afford him his pro-
tection. His favour shown to my wife and children," con-
tinued he, " will be the pledge of my own security. Should
he oppose me, I am confident, nay fully confident, I shall not
want spirit to die here with honour, in preference to living
there with ignominy. Wherefore this very month of Au-
gust, while milder gales are soothing the ocean, let Emma
make a voyage to her brother, and take our children, our
common pledges, to be deposited with him. Let their
companions be the bishop of Durham and the abbat of
Peterborough ; I myself will remain here till Christmas,
and should he send back a favourable answer, I will follow
directly."

On the breaking up of the conference, all obeyed ; they set
sail for Normandy, while he remained anxiously expecting a
favourable report. Shortly after he learned from abroad,
that Richard had received his sister with great affection, and

1 88 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 10.

that he invited the king also to condescend to become his
inmate. Ethelred, therefore, going into Normandy, in the
month of January, felt his distresses soothed by the atten-
tions of his host. This Richard was son of Richard the
first, and equalled his father in good fortune and good qua-
lities; though he certainly surpassed him in heavenly con-
cerns. He completed the monastery at Feschamp, which his
father had begun. He was more intent on prayer and tem-^
perance, than you would require in any monk, or hermit.
He was humble to excess, in order that he might subdue by
his patience, the petulance of those who attacked him.
Moreover it is reported, that at night, secretly escaping the
observation of his servants, he was accustomed to go unat-
tended to the matins* of the monks, and to continue in prayer
till day-light. Intent on this practice, one night in par-
ticular, at Feschamp, he was earlier than customary, and
finding the door shut, he forced it open with unusual vio-
lence, and disturbed the sleep of the sacristan. He, asto-
nished at the noise of a person knocking in the dead of
night, got up, that he might see the author of so bold a
deed ; and finding only a countryman in appearance, clothed
in rustic garb, he could not refrain from laying hands on
him ; and, moved with vehement indignation, he caught hold
of his hair, and gave this illustrious man a number of severe
blows, which he bore with incredible patience, and without
uttering a syllable. The next day, Richard laid his com-
plaint before the chapter,! and with counterfeited anger,
summoned the monk to meet him ^.t the town of Argens,
threatening that, " he would take such vengeance for the
injury, so that all France should talk of it." On the day
appointed, while the monk stood by, almost dead with fear,
he detailed the matter to the nobility, largely exaggerating
the enormity of the transaction, and keeping the culprit in
suspense, by crafty objections to what he urged in mitiga-
tion. Finally, after he had been mercifully judged by the
nobility, he pardoned him ; and to make his forgiveness more
acceptable, he annexed all that town, with its appurtenances,
reported to be abundant in the best wine, to the office of this
sacristan: saying, " That he was an admirable monk, who

• Matins were sometimes performed shortly after midnight.
f It was customary to hold a chapter immediately after primes.

4.D. 1013.1 THE DUKES OF NORMANDY. 189

properly observed his appointed charge, and did not break
silence, though roused with anger." In the twenty-eighth
year of his dukedom, he died, having ordered his body to be
buried at the door of the church, where it would be sub-
jected to the feet of such as passed by, and to the spouts of
water which streamed from above. In our time, however,
William, third abbat of that place, regarding this as dis-
graceful, removed the long-continued reproach, and taking
up the body, placed it before the high altar. He had a
brother, Robert, whom he made archbishop of Rouen, though
by this he tarnished his reputation. For he, cruelly abusing
this honour, at first, committed many crimes and many atro-
cious acts; but growing in years, he certainly vnped off
some of them by his very liberal almsgiving. After Richard,
his son of the same name obtained the principality, but lived
scarcely a year. A vague opinion indeed has prevailed,
that, by the connivance of his brother Robert, whom Richard
the second begat on Judith, daughter of Conan, earl of
Brittany, a certain woman, skilled in poisons, took the
young man oif. In atonement for his privity to this trans-
action he departed for Jerusalem, after the seventh year of
his earldom; venturing on an undertaking very meritorious
at that time, by commencing, with few followers, a journey,
exposed to incursions of barbarians, and strange, by reason
of the customs of the Saracens. He persevered neverthe-
less, and did not stop, but safely completed the whole dis-
tance, and purchasing admission at a high price, with bare
feet, and full of tears, he worshipped at that glory of the
Christians, the sepulchre of our Lord. Conciliating the
favour of God, as we believe, by this labour, on his return
nomewards he ended his days at Nice, a city of Bithynia ;
cut off, as it is said, by poison. This was administered by
his servant Ralph, surnamed Mowin, who had wrought him-
self up to the commission of this crime, from a hope of
obtaining the dukedom. But on his return to Normandy,
the matter becoming known to all, he was detested as a
monster, and retired to perpetual exile. To Robert suc-
ceeded William, his son, then a child, of whom as I shall
have to speak hereafter, I shall now return to my narrative.

In the meantime Sweyn, as I have before related, op-
pressed England with rapine and with slaughter: the in-

190 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [»• "• c. 10.

habitants were first plundered of their property, and then
proscribed. In every city it was matter of doubt what
should be done : if revolt was determined on, they had none
to take the lead; if submission was made choice of, they
would have a harsh ruler to deal with. Thus their public
and private property, together with their hostages, was car-
ried to the fleet ; as he was not a lawful sovereign, but a
most cruel tyrant. The Deity, however, was too kind to
permit England to fluctuate long in such keen distress, for
the invader died shortly after, on the purification of St.
Mary,* though it is uncertain by what death. It is reported,
that while devastating the possessions of St. Edmund, f
king and martyr, he appeared to him in a vision, and gently
addressed him on the misery of his people ; that on Sweyn's
replying insolently, he struck him on the head ; and that, in
consequence of the blow, he died, as has been said, imme-
diately after. The Danes then elected Canute, the son of
Sweyn, king ; while the Angles, declaring that their natural
sovereign was dearer to them, if he could conduct himself
more royally than he had hitherto done, sent for king Ethel-
red out of Normandy. He despatched Edward, his son, first,
to sound the fidelity of the higher orders and the inclination
of the people, on the spot ; who, when he saw the wishes of
all tending in his favour, went back in full confidence for his
father. The king returned, and, being flattered by the joy-
ful plaudits of the Angles, that he might appear to have
shaken off his constitutional indolence, he hastened to collect
an army against Canute, who was at that time in Lindsey,
where his father had left him with the ships and hostages,
and was levying fresh troops and horses, that, mustering a
sufficient force, he might make a vigorous attack upon his
enemies unprepared: vowing most severe vengeance, as he
used to say, on the deserters. But, circumvented by a con-
trivance similar to his own, he retreated. Escaping at that
time with much difficulty, and putting to sea with his re-
maining forces, he coasted the British ocean from east to
south, and landed at Sandwich. Here, setting all divine and
human laws at defiance, he mutilated his hostages, who were
young men of great nobiUty and elegance, by depriving them

* Sweyn died Feb. 3, a.d. 1014.

•f" The monastery of St. Edmundbury,

A.D. 10151 COUNCIL AT OXFORD. 191

of their ears, and nostrils, and some even of their manhood.
Thus tyrannizing over the innocent, and boasting of the feat,
he returned to his own country. In the same year the sea-
flood, which the Greeks call Euripus, and we Ledo,* rose to
so wonderful a height, that none like it was recollected in
the memory of man, for it overflowed the villages, and de-
stroyed their inhabitants, for many miles.

The year following a grand council of Danes and English
was assembled at Oxford, where the king commanded two
of the noblest Danes, Sigeferth, and Morcar, accused of
treachery to him by the impeachment of the traitor Edric, to
be put to death. He had lured them, by his soothing
expressions, into a chamber, and deprived them, when drunk
to excess, of their lives, by his attendants who had been
prepared for that purpose. The cause of their murder was
said to be, his unjustifiable desire for their property. Their
dependants, attempting to revenge the death of their lords by
arms, were worsted, and driven into the tower of St.
Frideswide's church at Oxford, where, as they could not be
dislodged, they were consumed by fire : however, shortly
after, the foul stain was wiped out by the king's penitence,
and the sacred place repaired. 1 have read the history of
tliis transaction, which is deposited in the archives of that
church. The wife of Sigeferth, a woman remarkable for her
rank and beauty, was carried prisoner to Malmesbury ; on
which account, Edmund, the king's son, dissembling his
intention, took a journey into those parts. Seeing her, he
became enamoured ; and becoming enamoured, he made her
his wife ; cautiously keeping their union secret from his
father, who was as much an object of contempt to his family
as to strangers. This Edmund was not born of Emma, but
of some other person, whom fame has left in obscurity.
With that exception, he was a young man in every respect
of noble disposition ; of great strength both of mind and
person, and, on this account, by the English, called
" Ironside : " he would have shrouded the indolence of his
father, and the meanness of his mother, by his own con-
spicuous virtue, could the fates have spared him. Soon after,
at the instigation of his wife, he asked of his father the

* He here considers Ledo to imply the spring tide ; but others say i*
means the neap, and express the former by Malina. See Du Cange.

192 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. ir. c. 10.

possessions of Sigeferth, which were of large extent among
the Northumbrians, but could not obtain them ; by his own
exertions, however, he procured them at last, the inhabitants
of that province willingly submitting to his power.

The same summer Canute, having settled his affairs in
Denmark, and entered into alliance with the neighbouring
kings, came to England, determined to subdue it or perish in
the attempt. Proceeding from Sandwich into Kent, and
thence into West Saxony, he laid every thing waste with fire
and slaughter, while the king was lying sick at Cosham.*
Edmund indeed attempted to oppose him, but being thwarted
by Edric, he placed his forces in a secure situation. Edric,
however, thinking it unnecessary longer to dissemble, but
that he might, now, openly throw off the mask, revolted to
Canute with forty ships, and all West Saxony following his
example, delivered hostages, and gave up their arms. Yet
the Mercians repeatedly assembling stood forward to resist :
and if the king would but come, and command whither they
were to march, and bring with him the leading men of
London, they were ready to shed their blood for their
country. But he, accustomed to commit his safety to
lortifications, and not to attack the enemy, remained in
London ; never venturing out, for fear, as he said, of
traitors. On the contrary, Canute was gaining towns and
villages over to his party ; and was never unemployed ; for
he held consultations by night, and fought battles by day.
Edmund, after long deliberation, esteeming it best, in such
an emergency, to recover, if possible, the revolted cities by
arms, brought over Utred, an earl, on the other side of the
Humber, to the same sentiments. They imagined too, that
such cities as were yet doubtful which sid% to take, would
determine at once, if they would only inflict signal vengeance
on those which had revolted. But Canute, possessed of equal
penetration, circumvented them by a similiar contrivance.
Giving over the West Saxons and that part of Mercia which
he had subjugated, to the custody of his generals, he
proceeded himself against the Northumbrians ; and, by
depopulating the country, compelled Utred to retire, to
defend his own possessions ; and notwithstanding he sur-
rcDdered himself, yet with inhuman levity he ordered him to
♦ Corsham, in Wiltshire ?

A.D. 1016.] DEATH OF ETHELRED. 193

be put to death. His earldom was givei to Eric, whom
Canute afterwards expelled England, because he pretended
to equal power with himself. Thus all being subdued, he
ceased not pursuing Edmund, who was gradually retreating,
till he heard that he was at London with his father. Canute
then remained quiet till after Easter, that he might attack
the city with all his forces. But the death of Ethelred
preceded the attempt : for in the beginning of Lent, on St.
Gregory's day,* he breathed out a life destined only to
labours and misery : he lies buried at St. Paul's in London.
The citizens immediately proclaimed Edmund king, who,
mustering an army, routed the Danes at Penn,f neat
Gillingham, about Rogation-day. After the festival of St,
John, engaging them again at Sceorstan, J he retired from a
drawn-battle. The English had begun to give way, at the
instance of Edric ; who being on the adversaries' side, and
holding in his hand a sword stained with the blood of a
fellow whom he had dexterously slain, exclaimed, "Fly,
wretches ! fly I behold, your king was slain by this sword I"
The Angles would have fled immediately, had not the king,
apprised of this circumstance, proceeded to an eminence, and
taking off his helmet, shown his face to his comrades. Then
brandishing a dart with all his forces, he launched it at Edric ;
but being seen, and avoided, it missed him, and struck a
soldier standing near ; and so great was its violence, that it
even transfixed a second. Night put a stop to the battle, tlie
hostile armies retreating as if by mutual consent, though the
English had well-nigh obtained the victory.

After this the sentiments of the West Saxons changed,
and they acknowledged their lawful sovereign. Edmund
proceeded to London, that he might liberate those deserving
citizens whom a party of the enemy had blocked up imme-
diately after his departure ; moreover they had surrounded
the whole city, on the parts not washed by the river Thames,
with a trench ; and many men lost their lives on both sides
in the skirmishes. Hearing of the king's approach, they

* March 12th, but the Saxon Chronicle says St. George's day, 23d April,

+ In Somersetshire ?

t Sceorstan is conjectured to be near Chippinp: Norton. — Sharp. Sup-
posed to be a stone which divided the four counties of Oxford, Gloucester,
Worcester and Warwick. — Hardy.

194 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. Lb. n. r. la

precipitately t jok to flight ; while he pursuing directly, and
passing the ford called Brentford, routed them with great
slaughter. The remaining multitude which were with
Canute, while Edmund was relaxing a little and getting his
affairs in order, again laid siege to London both on the land
and river side ; but being nobly repulsed by the citizens, they
wreaked their anger on the neighbouring province of Mercia,
laying waste the towns and villages, with plunder, fire, and
slaughter. The best of the spoil was conveyed to their ships
assembled in the Medway ; which river flowing by the city
of Rochester, washes its fair walls with a strong and rapid
current. They were attacked and driven hence also by the
king in person ; who suddenly seizing the ford, which I have
before mentioned at Brentford, * dispersed them with signal
loss.

While Edmund was preparing to pursue, and utterly de-
stroy the last remains of these plunderers, he was prevented
by the crafty and abandoned Edric, who had again insinu-
ated himself into his good graces ; for he had come over to
Edmund, at the instigation of Canute,, that he might betray
his designs. Had the king only persevered, this would have
been the last day for the Danes ; but misled by the insinua-
tions of a traitor, who aflirmed that the enemy would make
no farther attempt, he brought swift destruction upon him-
self, and the whole of England. Being thus allowed to
escape, they again assembled ; attacked the East Angles,
and, at Assandun,f compelled the king himself, who came
to their assistance, to retreat. Here again, the person I am
ashamed to mention so frequently, designedly gave the first
example of fiight. A small number, who, mindful of their
former fame, and encouraging each other, had formed a com-
pact body, were cut off to a man. On this field of battle
Canute gained the kingdom ; the glory of the Angles fell ;
and the whole flower of the country withered. Amongst
these was Ulf kytel, earl of East Anglia, who had gained
immortal honour in the time of Sweyn, when first attacking
the pirates, he showed that they might be overcome: here

* He passed the Thames at Brentford, followed them into Kent, and
defeated them at Aylesford. Saxon Chron.

+ Thought to be either Assingc on, Ashdown in Essex, or Aston in Berk-
shire.

A-JJ. 1016.] BATTLE OF ASSINGDON. 195

fell, too, the chief men of the day, both bishops and abbats.
Edmund flying hence almost alone, came to Gloucester, in
order that he might there re-assemble his forces, and attack
the enemy, indolent, as he supposed, from their recent vic-
tory. Nor was Canute wanting in courage to pursue the
fugitive. When everything was ready for battle, Edmund
demanded a single combat ; that two individuals might not,
for the lust of dominion, be stained with the blood of so
many subjects, when they might try their fortune without
the destruction of their faithful adherents: and observing,
that it must redound greatly to the credit of either to have
obtained so vast a dominion at his own personal peril. But
Canute refused this proposition altogether; affirming that
his courage was surpassing, but that he was apprehensive
of trusting his diminutive person against so bulky an an-
tagonist : wherefore, as both had equal pretensions to the
kingdom, since the father of either of them had possessed
it, it was consistent with prudence that they should lay
aside their animosity, and divide England.* This propo-
sition was adopted by either army, and confirmed with much
applause, both for its equity and its beneficent regard to the
repose of the people who were worn out with continual suf-
fering. In consequence, Edmund, overcome by the general
clamour, made peace, and entered into treaty with Canute,
retaining West Saxony himself and giving Mercia to the
other. He died soon after on the festival of St. Andrew, |
though by what mischance is not known, and was buried at
Glastonbury near his grandfather Edgar. Fame asperses
Edric, as having, through regard for Canute, compassed his
death by means of his servants : reporting that there were
two attendants on the king to whom he had committed the
entire care of his person, and, that Edric seducing them by
promises, at length made them his accomplices, though at
first they were struck with horror at the enormity of the
crime ; and that, at his suggestion, they drove an iron hook
into his posteriors, as he was sitting down for a necessary

* Henry Huntingdon says they actually engaged, and that Canute find-
ing himself likely to be worsted, proposed the division. — H. Hvmt. 1. 6.

f " Florence of Worcester and the Saxon Chronicle place his death on
the 30th of November, 1016. Florence, however, adds the year of the
indiction, which corresponds with a.d. 1017." — Haedy.

o 2

1^ WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. t»- u- c. 11

purpose. Edwin, his brother on the mother's side, a youth
of amiable disposition, was driven from England by Edrie,
at the command of Canute, and suffering extremely for a
considerable time, "both by sea and land," his body, as is
often the case, became affected by the anxiety of his mind,
and he died in England, where he lay concealed after a
clandestine return, and lies buried at Tavistock, His sons,
Edwy and Edward, were sent to the king of Sweden to be
put to death ; but being preserved by his mercy, they went
to the king of Hungary, where, after being kindly treated
for a time, the elder died ; and the younger married Agatha,
the sister of the queen. His brothers by Emma, Alfred and
Edward, lay securely concealed in Normandy for the whole
time that Canute lived.

I find that their uncle Richard took no steps to restore
them to their country : on the contrary, he married his sister
Emma to the enemy and invader ; and it may be difiicult to
say, whether to the greater ignominy of him who bestowed
her, or of the woman who consented to share the nuptial
couch of that man who had so cruelly molested her husband,
and had driven her children into exile. Robert, however,
whom we have so frequently before mentioned as having
gone to Jerusalem, assembling a fleet and embarking sol-
diers, made ready an expedition, boasting that he would
set the crown on the heads of his grand-nephews ; and
doubtlessly he would have made good his assertion, had
not, as we have heard from our ancestors, an adverse wind
constantly opposed him : but assuredly this was by the hid-
den counsel of God, in whose disposal are the powers of all
kingdoms. The remains of the vessels, decayed through
length of time, were still to be seen at Rouen in our days.

CHAP. XL

Of king Canute. [ a.d. 1 0 1 7— 1 03 1 . ]

Canute began to reign in the year of our Lord 1017, and
reigned twenty years. Though he obtained the sovereignty
unjustly, yet he conducted himself with great affability and
firmness. At his entrance on the government, dividing the
kingdom into four parts, himself took the West Saxons, Edric
the Mercians, Thurkill the East Angles, and Eric the North-

A.D. 1017.] OF KING CANUTE. 199

umbrians. His first care was to punish the muthat they
Edmund, who had, under expectation of great reconbe as-
acknowledged the whole circumstances : he concealed txer-
for a time, and then brought them forward in a large assenT
bly of the people, where they confessed the mode of their
attack upon him, and were immediately ordered to execution.
The same year, Edric, whom words are wanting to stigma-
tize as he deserved, being, by the king's command, entrapped
in the same snare which he had so frequently laid for others,
breathed out liis abominable spirit to hell. For a quarrel
arising, while they were angrily discoursing, Edric, relying
on the credit of his services, and amicably, as it were, re-
proaching the king, said, " I first deserted Edmund for your
sake, and afterwards even despatched him in consequence of
my engagements to you." At this expression the counte-
nance of Canute changed with indignation, and he instantly
pronounced this sentence : " Thou shalt die," said he, " and
justly ; since thou art guilty of treason both to God and me,
by having killed thy own sovereign, and my sworn brother ;
thy blood be upon thy head, because thy mouth hath spoken
against thee, and thou hast lifted thy hand against the Lord's
anointed :" and immediately, that no tumult might be excited,
the traitor was strangled in the chamber where they sat, and
thrown out of the window into the river Thames : thus meet-
ing the just reward of his perfidy. In process of time, as
opportunities occurred, Thurkill and Eric were driven out of
the kingdom, and sought their native land. The first, who
had been the instigator of the murder of St. Elphege, was
killed by the chiefs the moment he touched the Danish shore.*
When all England, by these means, became subject to Canute
alone, he began to conciliate the Angles with unceasing dili-
gence ; allowing them equal rights with the Danes, in their
assemblies, councils, and armies : on which account, as I
have before observed, he sent for the wife of the late king out
of Normandy, that, while they were paying obedience to their
accustomed sovereign, they should the less repine at tlie do-
minion of the Danes. Another design he had in view by
this, was, to acquire favour with Richard ; who would think

• The Danish chiefs were apprehensive that he would excite commo-
tions in tlieir country ; in consequence of which he was ultimately de-
spatched.— Ang. Sac. ii. 144.

ijCyQ WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. it. c. II ,

purpose. "^^^ nephews, so long as he supposed he might have
of ami*-'''^y Canute. He repaired, throughout England, the
j^j. iviasteries, which had been partly injured, and partly de-
^.^ troyed by the military incursions of himself, or of his father ;
he built churches in all the places where he had fought, and
more particularly at Assingdon, and appointed ministers to
them, who, through the succeeding revolutions of ages, might
pray to God for the souls of the persons there slain. At the
consecration of this edifice, himself was present, and the
English and Danish nobility made their offerings : it is now,
according to report, an ordinary church, under the care of a
parish priest. Over the body of the most holy Edmund,
whom the Danes of former times had killed, he built a church
with princely magnificence, appointed to it an abbat, and
monks : and conferred on it many large estates. The great-
ness of his donation, yet entire, stands proudly eminent at the
present day ; for that place surpasses almost all the monas-
teries of England. He took up, with his own hands, the
body of St. Elphege, which had been buried at St. Paul's in
London, and sending it to Canterbury, honoured it with due
regard. Thus anxious to atone for the offences of himself or
of Ms predecessors, perhaps he wiped away the foul stain of
his former crimes with God : certainly he did so with man.
At Winchester, he displayed all the magnificence of his liber-
ality : here he gave so largely, that the quantity of precious
metals astonished the minds of strangers ; and the glittering
of jewels dazzled the eyes of the beholders : this was at
Emma's suggestion, who with pious prodigality exhausted
his treasures in works of this kind, while he Avas meditating
fierce attacks on foreign lands. For liis valour, incapable of
rest, and not contented with Denmark, which he held from
his father, and England, which he possessed by right of war,
transferred its rage against the Swedes. These people are
contiguous to the Danes, and had excited the displeasure of
Canute by their ceaseless hostility. At first he fell into an
ambush, and lost many of his people, but afterwards recruit-
ing his strength, he routed his opponents, and brought the
kings of that nation, Ulf and Eglaf, to terms of peace. The
English, at the instance of earl Godwin, behaved nobly in
this conflict. He exhorted them, not to forget their ancient
fame, but clearly to display their valour to their new lord :

A D. 1030. 1031. J Canute's EPISTLE. 199

telling them, that it must be imputed to fortune, that they
had formerly been conquered by him, but it would be as-
cribed to their courage, if they overcame those who had over-
come him. In consequence, the English put forth all their
strength, and gaining the victory, obtained an earldom for
their commander, and honour for themselves. Thence, on
his return home, he entirely subdued the kingdom of Nor-
way, putting Olave, its king, to flight ; who, the year fol-
lowing, returning with a small party into his kingdom, to
try the inclinations of the inhabitants, found them faithless,
and was slain with his adhere^its.

In the fifteenth year of his reign, Canute went to Rome,
and after remaining there some time, and atoning for his
crimes by giving alms to the several churches, he sailed back
to England.* Soon after, with little difficulty, he subdued
Scotland, then in a state of rebellion, and Malcohn her king,
by leading an army thither. I trust it will not appear use-
less, if I subjoin the epistle, which he transmitted to the
English, on his departure from Rome, by the hands of Living,
abbat of Tavistock, and afterwards bishop of Crediton, to ex-
emplify his reformation of life, and his princely magnificence.

" Canute^ king of all England, Denmark^ Norway, and
part of the Swedes, to Ethelnoth, metropolitan, and Elfric
archbishop of York, and to all bishops, nobles, and to the
whole nation of the English high and low, health. I notify
to you, that I have lately been to Rome, to pray for the for-
giveness of my sins ; for the safety of my dominions, and of
the people under my government. I had long since vowed
such a journey to God, but, hitherto hindered by the affairs
of my kingdom, and other causes preventing, I was unable to
accomplish it sooner. I now return thanks most humbly to
my Almighty God;, for suffering me, in my lifetime, to ap-
proach the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the holy
saints within and without the city of Rome, wherever I could
discover them, and there, present, to worship and adore ac-
cording to my desire. I have been the more diligent in the
performance of this, because I have learned from the wise,
that St. Peter, the apostle, has received from God, great
power in binding and in loosing : that he carries the key of
the kingdom of heaven ; and consequently I have judged

• He returned 1 y the way of Denmark. Florence of Worcester.

200 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [b. ir. c 11.

it matter of special importa ice to seek his influence with
God. Be it known to you, that at the solemnity of Easter,
a great assembly of nobles was present with pope John,
and the emperor Conrad, that is to say, all the princes
of the nations from mount Garganus* to the neighbour-
ing sea. All these received me with honour, and pre-
sented me with magnificent gifts. But more especially was
I honoured by the emperor, with various gifts and offerings, in
gold and silver vessels, and palls and costly garments. More-
over, I spoke with the emperor himself, and the sovereign
pope and the nobles who were there, concerning the wants of
all my people, English as well as Danes ; observing that
there ought to be granted to them more equitable regulations,
and greater security on their passage to Rome ; that they
should not be impeded by so many barriersf on the road, nor
harassed with unjust exactions. The emperor assented to
my request, as did Rodolph the king, who has the chief
dominion over those barriers ; and all the princes confirmed
by an edict, that my subjects, traders, as well as those who
went on a religious account, should peaceably go and return
from Rome, without any molestation from warders of bar-
riers, or tax-gatherers. Again I complained before the pope,
and expressed my high displeasure, that my archbishops were
oppressed by the immense sum of money which is demanded
from them when seeking, according to custom, the apostolical
residence to receive the pall : and it was determined that it
should be so no longer. Moreover, all things which I re-
quested for the advantage of my kingdom, from the sovereign
pope, and the emperor, and king Rodolph, and the other
princes, through whose territories our road to Rome is
situated, they have freely granted, and confirmed by oath,
under the attestation of four archbishops, and twenty bishops,
and an innumerable multitude of dukes and nobles who
were present. Wherefore I give most hearty thanks to God
Almighty, for having successfully completed all that I had
wished, in the manner I had designed, and fully satisfied my
intentions. Be it known then, that since I have vowed to
God himself, henceforward to reform my life in all thing?,

* St. Angel o in CalaJjria.

T The several princes, through whose territories their passage lay, exacicd
lai'ge sums for permission to pass ; apparently in the defiles of the Al^.s.

A, D. 1031.]

and justly, and piously to govern the kingdoms and the
people subject to me, and to maintain equal justice in all
things ; and have determined, through God's assistance, to
rectify any thing hitherto unjustly done, either through the
intemperance of my youth, or through negligence ; therefore
I call to witness, and command my counsellors, to whom I
have entrusted the counsels of the kingdom, that they by no
means, either through fear of myself, or favour to any power-
ful person, suffer, henceforth, any injustice, or cause such, to
be done in all my kingdom. Moreover, I command all
sheriffs, or governors throughout my whole kingdom, as they
tender my affection, or their own safety, not to commit in-
justice towards any man, rich or poor, but to allow all, noble
and ignoble, alike to enjoy impartial law, from which they
are never to deviate, either on account of royal favour, the
person of any powerful man, or for the sake of amassing
money for myself : for I have no need to accumulate money
by unjust exaction. Be it known to you therefore, that re-
turning by the same way that I went, I am now going to
Denmark, through the advice of all the Danes, to make peace
and firm treaty with those nations, who were desirous, had it
been possible, to deprive me both of life and of sovereignty :
this, however, they were not able to perform, God, who by
his kindness preserves me in my kingdom and in my honour,
and destroys the power of all my adversaries, bringing their
strength to nought. Moreover, when I have established
peace with the surrounding nations, and put all our sove-
reignty here in the East in tranquil order, so that there
shall be no fear of war or enmity on any side, I intend
coming to England, as early in the surnmer as I shall be able
to get my fleet prepared. I have sent this epistle before me,
in order that my people may rejoice at my prosperity ; be-
cause, as yourselves know, I have never spared, nor will I
spare, either myself >0r my pains for the needful service of
my whole people. nI now therefore adjure all my bishops,
and governors, throughout my kingdom, by the fidelity they
owe to God and me, to take care that, before I come to Eng-
land, all dues owing by ancient custom be discharged : that
is to say, plough-alms,* the tenth of animals born in the

. * A penny for every plough, that is, for as much land as a plough could

202 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. U- n. c. 11.

current year,* and the pence owing to Rome for St. Peter,
whether from cities or villages : and in the middle of August,
the tenth of the produce of the earth : and on the festival of
St. Martin, the first fruits of seeds, to the church of the
parish where each one resides, which is called in Enghsh
* Circscet.'f K these and such like things are not paid be-
fore I come to England, all who shall have offended will
incur the penalty of a royal mulct, J to be exacted without
remission, according to law." Nor was this declaration with-
out effect ; for he commanded all the laws which had been
enacted by ancient kings, and chiefly by his predecessor
Ethelred, to be observed for ever, under the penalty of a
royal mulct : in the observance of which, § the custom even
at the present day, in the time of good kings, is to swear by
the name of king Edward, not that he indeed appointed, but
that he observed them.

At that time there were in England very great and learned
men, the principal of whom was Ethelnoth, archbishop after
Living. He was appointed primate from being dean,|| and
performed many works truly worthy to be recorded : en-
couraging even the king himself in his good actions by the
authority of his sanctity, and restraining him in his excesses :
he first exalted the archiepiscopal cathedral by the presence
of the body of St. Elphege, and afterwards personally at
Rome, restored it to its pristine dignity.^ Returning home,
he transmitted to Coventry the arm of St. Augustine** the
teacher, which he had purchased at Pavia, for an hundred
talents of silver, and a talent of gold. Moreover, Canute
took a journey to the church of Glastonbury, that he might
visit the remains of his brother Edmund, as he used to call

till, to be distributed to the poor : it was payable in fifteen days from
Eaater. • Payable at Whitsuntide.

t A certain quantity of com. Though it also implies, occasionally, other
kinds of offerings.

t A forfeitiure to the king, but varying according to the nature of the
offence.

< This seems to be the meaning : he has probably in view the practice
of the early princes of the Norman line, who swore to observe the laws of
king Edward. || Dean of Canterbury.

^ This appears merely intended to express that he received the pall
from the pope. The two transactions are inverted ; he went .\) Rome
A.D. 1021, and translated Elphege's body a.d. 1023.

•• Augustine, bishop of Hippo.

A.D.1031.J CHARTER OF GLASTONBURY. 203

him ; and praying over Ms tomb, he presented a paTl, inter-
woven, as it appeared, with party-coloured figures of pea-
cocks. Near the king stood the before-named Ethehioth,
who was the seventh monk of Glastonbury that had become
archbishop of Canterbury : first Berthwald : second Athelm,
first bishop of Wells : third his nephew Dunstan : fourth
Ethelgar, first abbat of the New-minster at Winchester,
and then bishop of Chichester :* fifth Siric, who, when he
was made archbishop, gave to this his nursing-mother seven
palls, with which, upon his anniversary, the whole ancient
church is ornamented *• sixth Elphege, who from prior of
Glastonbury was, first, made abbat of Bath, and then bishop
of Winchester : seventh Ethelnoth, who upon showing to
the king the immunities of predecessors, asked, and obtained
from the king's own hand a confirmation of them, which was
to the following effect.

" The Lord reigning for evermore, who disposes and
governs all things by his unspeakable power, who wonder-
fully determines the changes of times and of men, and justly
brings them to an uncertain end, according to his pleasure ;
and who from the secret mysteries of nature mercifully
teaches us, how lasting, instead of fleeting and transitory,
kingdoms are to be obtained by the assistance of God : where-
fore I Canute king of England, and governor and ruler of
the adjacent nations, by the counsel and decree of our arch-
bishop Ethelnoth, and of all the priests of God, and by the
advice of our nobility, do, for the love of heaven, and the
pardon of my sins, and the remission of the transgressions of
my brother, king Edmund, grant to the church of the holy
mother of God, Mary, at Glastonbury, its rights and customs
throughout my kingdom, and all forfeitures throughout its
possessions, and that its lands shall be free from all claim
and vexation as my own are. Moreover, I inhibit more
especially, by the authority of the Almighty Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, and the curse of the eternal Virgin, and so
command it to be observed by the judges and primates of
my kingdom as they tender their safety, every person, be
they of what order or dignity they may, from entering, on

• He was bishop of Selsey, which see was afterwards removed to
Chichester.

204 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. xr. c. 11.

any account, that island ;* but all causes, ecclesiastical as
well as secular, shall await the sole judgment of the abbat
and convent, in like manner as my predecessors have ratified
and confirmed by charters ; that is to say, Kentwin, Ina,
Cuthred, Alfred, Edward, Ethelred, Athelstan, the most
glorious Edmund, and the equally glorious Edgar. And
should any one hereafter endeavour, on any occasion, to
break in upon, or make void the enactment of this grant, let
him be driven from the communion of the righteous by the
fan of the last judgment ; but should any person endeavour
diligently, with benevolent intention, to perform these things,
to approve, and defend them, may God increase his portion
in the land of the living, through the intercession of the most
holy mother of God, Mary, and the rest of the saints. The
grant of this immunity was written and published in the
Wooden Church, in the presence of king Canute, in the year
of our Lord 1032, the second indiction."

By the advice of the said archbishop also, the king, send-
ing money to foreign churches, very much enriched Chartres,
where at that time flourished bishop Fulbert, most renowned
for sanctity and learning. Who, among other demonstrations
of his diligence, very magnificently completed the church of
our lady St. Mary, the foundations of which he had laid : and
which moreover, in his zeal to do every thing he could for its
honour, he rendered celebrated by many musical modulations.
The -man who has heard his chants, breathing only celestial
vows, is best able to conceive the love he manifested in
honour of the Virgin. Among his other works, a volume of
epistles is extant ; in one of which,t he thanks that most
magnificent king Canute, for pouring out the bowels of his
generosity in donations to the church of Chartres.

In the fifteenth year of Canute's reign, Robert king of
France, of whom we have before briefly spoken, departed
this life : a man so much given to alms, that when, on festi-
val days, he was either dressing, or putting off the royal
robes, if he had nothing else at hand, he would give even

* The whole country round Glastonbury is flat and marshy, bearing evi-
dent marks of having formerly been covered by water.

t '^See the letter of Fulbert to king Canute (an. 1020 aut 1021.)
No. xliv., p. 466. tom. x. Rec des Hist, de la France. Fnlberti Caniot.
Episc. Op. Var. 8vo. par. 1608. Epist xcvii. p. 92."— HAitoy.

A.D. 1036.] HAROLD AND IIARDECANUTE. 205

these to the poor, if his attendants did not purposely drive
away the needy who were importuning him. He had two
sons, Odo, and Henry : the elder, Odo,* was dull : the other
crafty and impetuous. Each parent had severally divided
their affections on their children : the father loved the first-
born, often saying that he should succeed him : the mother
regarded the younger, to whom the sovereignty was justly
due, if not for his age, yet certainly for his ability. It hap-
pened, as women are persevering in their designs, that she
did not cease until, by means of presents, and large promises,
she had gotten to her side all the chief nobility who are sub-
ject to the power of France. In consequence, Henry, chiefly
through the asssistance of Robert the Norman, was crowned
ere his father had well breathed his last. Mindful of this
kindness, when, as I before related, Robert went to Jerusa-
lem, Henry most strenuously espoused the cause of William,
his son, then a youth, against those who attempted to throw
off his yoke. In the meantime Canute, finishing his earthly
career, died at Shaftesbury, and was buried at Winchester.

CHAP. xn.

Of king Harold and Hardecanute. [a.d. 1036—1042.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 1036,f Harold, whom
fame | reported to be the son of Canute, by the daughter ot
earl Elfelm, succeeded, and reigned four years and as many
months. He was elected by the Danes and the citizens of
London, who, from long intercourse with these barbarians,
had almost entirely adopted their customs. The English
resisted for a long time, rather wishing to have one of the
sons of Ethel red, who were then in Normandy, or else Har-
decanute, the son of Canute by Emma, at that time in Den-

* Though several French chronicles give nearly the same account of
Odo being the elder brother, the learned editors of the Recueil des Histo-
riens de France insist that the assertion is false.

+ " After the death of Canute, the kingdom was at first divided : the
northern part fell to the share of Harold, and Hardecanute obtained the
southern division. In the year 1037, Harold was chosen to reign over all
England, (Flor. Wigom.) " — Hardy.

X This he notices, because there was a suspicion that she had imposed
the children of a priest and of a cobbler on Canute as her own. V. Flor.
Wigom.

206 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c. 12.

mark, for their king. The greatest stickler for justice, at
this juncture, was earl Godwin ; who professing himself the
defender of the fatherless, and having queen Emma and the
royal treasures in his custody, for some time restrained his
opponents by the power of his name : but at last, overcome
by numbers and by violence, he was obliged to give way.
Harold, secure in his sovereignty, drove his mother-in-law
into exile. Not thinking she should be safe in Normandy,
where, her brother and nephews being dead, disgust at the
rule of a deserted orphan created great disorders, she passed
over into Flanders, to earl Baldwin, a man of tried integ-
rity : who afterwards, when king Henry died leaving a
young son, Philip, for some years nobly governed the king-
dom of France, and faithfully restored it to him, for he had
married his aunt, when he came of age. Emma passed
three years securely under the protection of this man, at
the expiration of which, Harold dying at Oxford, in the
month of April,* was buried at Westminster. The Danes
and the English then uniting in one common sentiment of
sending for Hardecanute, he came, by way of Normandy,
into England in the month of August. For Ethelred's sons
were held in contempt nearly by all, more from the recollec-
tion of their father's indolence, than the power of the Danes.
Hardecanute, reigning two years except ten days, lost his
life amid his cups at Lambeth nigh London, and was buried
near his father at Winchester: a young man who evinced
great affection towards his brother and sister. For his bro-
ther, Edward, wearied with continual wandering, revisiting
his native land in the hope of fraternal kindness, was re-
ceived by him with open arms, and entertained most affec-
tionately. He was rash, however, in other respects, and at
the instigation of Elfric, archbishop of York, and of others
whom I am loath to name, he ordered the dead body of
Harold to be dug up, the head to be cut off, and thrown
into the Thames, a pitiable spectacle to men ! but it was
dragged up again in a fisherman'a.,-«^t, and buried in the
cemetery of the Danes at London. \He imposed a rigid, and
intolerable tribute upon England, in order that he might
pay, according to his promise, twenty marks to the soldiers

• The Saxon Chronicle says March 17: it also makes Hardecanut*'
nrrire on the 18th of June.

A.D. 1041.J EXPULSION OF A BISHOP. 207

of each of his vesseL^ While this was harshly levied
throughout the kingd^, two of the collectors, discharging
their office rather too rigorously, were killed by the citizens
of Worcester ; upon which, burning and depopulating the
city by means of his commanders, and plundering the pro-
perty of the citizens, he cast a blemish on his fame and
diminished the love of his subjects. But here I will not
pass over in silence, what tattlers report of Alfred the first-
born of Ethelred. Doubtful what to do between Harold's
death and the arrival of Hardecanute, he came into the
kingdom, and was deprived of his eyes by the treachery of
his countrymen, and cliiefly of Godwin, at Gillingham : from
thence being sent to the monastery of Ely, he supported, for
a little time, a wretched subsistence upon homely food ; all
his companions, with the exception of the tenth, being be-
headed : for by lot every tenth man was saved.* I have
mentioned these circumstances, because such is the report ;
but as the Chronicles are silent, I do not assert them for
fact. For this reason, Hardecanute, enraged against Living,
bishop of Crediton, whom public opinion pointed out as
author of the transaction, expelled him from his see : but,
soothed with money, he restored him within the year.
Looking angrily too upon Godwin, he obliged him to clear
himself by oath; but he, to recover his favour entirely,
added to his plighted oath a present of the most rich and
beautiful kind ; it was a ship beaked with gold, having
eighty soldiers on board, who had two bracelets on either
arm, each weighing sixteen ounces of gold; on their heads
were gilt helmets ; on their left shoulder they carried a Dan-
ish axe, with an iron spear in their right hand ; and, not to
enumerate everjrthing, they were equipped with such arms,
as that splendour vying with terror, might conceal the steel
beneath the gold. But farther, as I had begun to relate, his
sister Gunhilda, the daughter of Canute by Emma, a young
woman of exquisite beauty, who was sighed for, but not
obtained, by many lovers in her father's time, was by
Hardecanute given in marriage to Henry, emperor of the

* The printed Saxon Chronicle has no mention of this transaction, but
tliere are two manuscripts which relate it. The story appears true in the
main, but it is told with so much variety of time, place, &c., that it is diffi-
cult to ascertain its real circumstances. See MSS. Cott. Tib. b. i. and It.

208 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. [b. ii. c. 12L

Germans. The splendour of the nuptial pageant was very
striking, and is even in our times frequently sung in ballads
about the streets : where while this renowned lady was being
conducted to the ship, all the nobility of England were
crowding around and contributing to her charges whatever
was contained in the general purse, or royal treasury. Pro-
ceeding in this manner to her husband, she cherished for a
long time the conjugal tie; at length being accused of adul-
tery, she opposed in single combat to her accuser, a man of
gigantic size, a young lad of her brother's* establishment,
whom she had brought from England, while her other at-
tendants held back in cowardly apprehension. When, there-
fore, they engaged, the impeacher, through the miraculous
interposition of God, was worsted, by being ham-strung.
Gunhilda, exulting at her unexpected success, renounced the
marriage contract with her husband; nor could she be in-
duced either by threats or by endearments again to share his
bed: but taking the veil of a nun, she calmly grew old in
the service of God.

This emperor possessed many and great virtues; and
nearly surpassed in military skill all his predecessors: so
much so, that he subdued the Yindelici and the Leutici,t
and the other nations bordering on the Suevi, who alone,
even to the present day, lust after pagan superstitions: for
the Saracens and Turks worship God the Creator, looking
upon Mahomet not as God, but as his prophet. But the
Vindelici worship fortune, and putting her idol in the most
eminent situation, they place a horn in her right hand, filled
with that beverage, made of honey and water, which by a
Greek term we call " hydromel." St. Jerome proves, in his
eighteenth book on Isaiah, that the Egyptians and almost
all the eastern nations do the same. Wherefore on the last
day of November, sitting round in a circle, they all taste
it; and if they find the horn full, they applaud with loud
clamours : because in the ensuing year, plenty with her

• It seems to mean a page, or personal attendant: some MSS. read
"alumnus stumi;" apparently the keeper of her starling. There appears
to have been a sort of romance on this subject. The youth is said to
have been a dwarf, and therefore named Mimicon : his gigantic adversary
was Roddingar. V. Matt. West, and Joh. Brompton.

t These people inhabited the coantry on and near the southern coast of
the Baltic.

«». i04l.| ANECDOTES OF EMPEROR HENRY III. 209

trimming horn will fulfil their wishes in everything: hut
if it be otherwise, they lament. Henry made these nations
in such wise tributary to him, that upon every solemnity on
which he wore his crown, four of their kings were obliged
to carry a cauldron in which flesh was boiled, upon their
shoulders, to the kitchen, by means of levers passed through
rings.

Frequently, when disengaged from the turmoils of his
empire, Henry gave himself up to good fellowship and
merriment, and was replete with humour ; this may be
sufficiently proved by two instances. He was so extremely
fond of his sister, who was a nun, that he never suffered her
to be from his side, and her chamber was always next his
own. As he was on a certain time, in consequence of a
winter remarkable for severe frost and snow, detained for
a long while in the same place, a certain clerk * about the
court, became too familiar with the girl, and often passed the
greatest part of the night in her chamber. And although he
attempted to conceal his crime by numberless subterfuges,
yet some one perceived it, for it is difficult not to betray
guilt either by look or action, and the affair becoming
notorious, the emperor was the only person in ignorance,
and who still believed his sistei* to be chaste. On one
particular night, however, as they were enjoying their fond
embraces, and continuing their pleasures longer than usual,
the morning dawned upon them, and behold snow had com-
pletely covered the ground. The clerk fearing that he should
be discovered by his track in the snow, persuades his mistress
to extricate him from his difficulty by carrying him on her
back. She, regardless of modesty so that she might escape
exposure, took her paramour on her back, and carried him out
of the palace. It happened at that moment, that the emperor
had risen for a necessary purpose, and looking through the
window of his chamber, beheld the clerk mounted. He was
stupified at the first sight, but observing still more narrowly,
he became mute with shame and indignation. While he was
hesitating whether he should pass over the crime unpunished,

* Clerk was a general term including every degree of orders, from the
bishop downwards to the chanter. A story near similar has been told of
the celebrated Eginhard and the daughter of Charlemagne. V Du Chc«nc,
Scxipt. Fraiic. T. ii.

P

210 WILLIAM OF MALMESBLTIY. [b ii. c. IJfc

or openly /eprehend the delinquents, there happened an
opportunity for him to give a vacant bishopric to the clerk,
which he did : but at the same time whispered in his ear,
" Take the bishopric, but be careful you do not let women
carry you any more." At the same time he gave his sister
the rule over a company of nuns, " Be an abbess," said he,
" but carry clerks no longer." Both of them were confused,
and feeling themselves grievously stricken by so grave an
injunction, they desisted from a crime which they thought
revealed by God.

He had also a clergyman about his palace, who abused the
depth of his learning and the melody of his voice by the
vicious propensities of the flesh, being extremely attached to
a girl of bad character, in the town ; with whom having
passed one festival night, he stood next morning before the
emperor at mass, with countenance unabashed. The emperor
concealing his knowledge of the transaction, commanded him
to prepare himself to read the gospel, that he might be
gratified with the melody of his voice : for he was a deacon. -
Conscious of his crime, he made use of a multitude of
subterfuges, while the emperor, to try his constancy, still
pressed him with messages. Refusing, however, to the very
last, the emperor said, " Since you will not obey me in so
easy a command, I banish you from the whole of my
territories." The deacon, yielding to the sentence, departed-
directly. Servants were sent to follow him, and in case he^.-
should persist in going, to bring him back after he had left
the city. Gathering, therefore, immediately all his effect^
together, and packing them up, he had already gone a
considerable distance, when he was brought back, not
witiiout extreme violence, and placed in the presence of
^J[enry, who smiled and said : " You have done well, and I
applaud your integrity for valuing the fear of God more than
your country, and regarding the displeasure of heaven more
than my threats. Accept, therefore, the first bishopric, which
shall be v^ant in my empire ; only renounce your dishonour-
able amour^^

As nothi^ however is lasting in human enjoyments, I
shall not pass over in silence a certain dreadful portent
which happened in his time. The monastery of Fulda, in
Saxony, is celebrated for containing the body of St. Gal'

A.». 1042.' hejry's beneficence. 211

and is enriched with very ample territories. \he abbat of
this place furnishes the emperor with sixty thousand
warriors against his enemies ; and possesses from ancient
times the privilege ofsitting at his right hand on the most
distinguished festival^ This Henry we are speaking of was
celebrating Pentecost at Mentz. A little before mass, while
the seats were preparing in the church, a quarrel arose
between the attendants of the abbat, and those of the
archbishop, which of their masters should sit next the
sovereign : one party alleging the dignity of the prelate, the
other ancient usage. When words made but little for peace,
as the Germans and Teutonians possess untractable spirits,
they came to blows. Some snatched up staves, others threw
stones, while the rest unsheathed their swords : finally each
used the weapon that his anger first supplied. Thus furiously
contending in the church, the pavement soon streamed with
blood : but the bishops hastening forward, peace was restored
amid the remains of the contending parties. The church was
cleansed, and mass performed with joyful sound. But now
comes the wonder : when the sequence was chanted, and
the choir paused at that verse, " Thou hast made this day
glorious : " a voice in tlie air replied aloud, " I have made
this day contentious." All the others were motionless with
horror, but the emperor the more diligently attended to his
occupation, and perceiving the satisfaction of the enemy :
" You," said he, " the inventor and also the instigator of all
wickedness, have made this day contentious and sorrowful to
the proud ; but w^e, by the grace of God, who made it
glorious, will make it gracious to the poor." Beginning the
sequence afresh, they implored the grace of the Holy Spirit
by solemn lamentation. You might suppose he had come
upon them, for some w^ere singing, others weeping, and all
beating their breasts. When mass was over, assembling the
poor by means of his officers, he gave them the whole of the
entertainment which had been prepared for himself and his
courtiers : the emperor placing the dishes before them,
standing at a distance according to the custom of servants,
and clearing away the fragments.

In the time of his father, Conrad, he had received a silver
pipe, such as boys in sport spirt water with, from a certain
clerk, covenanting to give him a bishopric, vhen he should

p 2

212 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. ii, c 18.

become emperor. This, when he was of man's estate, on his
application he readily gave to him. Soon after he was
confined to his bed with severe sickness : his malady
increasing, he lay for three days insensible and speechless,
while the vital breath only palpitated in his breast : nor was
there any other sign of hfe, than the perception of a small
degree of breathing, on applying the hand to his nostrils.
The bishops being present, enjoined a fast for three days, and
entreated heaven with tears and vows, for the life of the king.
Recovering by these remedies, as it is right to think, he sent
for the bishop whom he had so improperly appointed, and
deposed him by the judgment of a council : confessing, that
for three whole days he saw malignant demons blowing fire
upon him through a pipe ; fire so furious that ours in com-
parison would be deemed a jest, and have no heat : that
afterwards there came a young man half scorched, bearing a
golden cup of immense size, full of water ; and that being
soothed by the sight of him, and bathed by the water, the
flame was extinguished, and he recovered his health : that
this young man was St. Laurence, the roof of whose church
lie had restored when gone to decay ; and, among other
presents, had honoured it with a golden chalice.

Here many extraordinary things occur, which are reported
of this man ; for instance, of a stag, which took him on its
back, when flying from his enemies, and carried him over an
unfordable river : and some others which I pass by because I
am unwilling to go beyond the reader's belief. He died when
he had completed the eighteenth year of his empire, and was
buried at Spires, which he re-built, and called by that name,
on the site of the very ancient and ruined Nemetum : his
epitaph is as follows :

Caesar, as was the world once great,
Lies here, confin'd in compass straight.
Hence let each mortal learn his doom ;
No glory can escape the tomb.
The flower of empire, erst so gay,
Falls with its Caesar to decay,
And all the odours which it gave
Sink prematurely to the grave.
The laws which sapient fathers made,
A listless race had dared evade,
But thou reforming by the school
Of Rome, restorMst the ancient mie.

A.». 1042, 1043] EDWABD THE CONFESSOR. '^^^

Nations and regions, wide and far,
Whom none could subjugate by war,
Quell'd by thy sword's resistless strife,
Tium'd to the arts of civil life.
What grief severe must Rome engross,
Widow'd at first by Leo's loss,
And next by Caesar's mournful night,
Reft of her other shining light ;
Living, what region did not dread.
What country not lament thee, dead !
So kind to nations once subdued,
So fierce to the barbarians rude,
That, those who fear'd not, must bewail,
And such as griev'd not, fears assail.
Rome, thy departed glory moan,
And weep thy luminaries gone.

This Leo, of whom the epitaph speaks, had been Roman
pontiff, called to that eminence from being Bruno bishop of
Spires. He was a man of great and admirable sanctity ;
and the Romans celebrate many of his miracles. He died
before Henry, when he had been five years pope.

CHAP. xm.

Of St. Edward, son of king Ethelred. [a.d. 1042—1066.]

In the year of our Lord's incarnation 1042, St. Edward, the
son of Ethelred, assumed the sovereignty, and held it not
quite twenty-four years ; he was a man from the simplicity
of his manners little calculated to govern ; but devoted to
God, and in consequence directed by him. For while he
continued to reign, there arose no popular commotions, which
were not immediately quelled ; no foreign war ; all was calm
and peaceable both at home and abroad ; which is the more
an object of wonder, because he conducted himself so mildly,
that he would not even utter a word of reproach to the mean-
est person. For when he had once gone out to hunt, and a
countryman had overturned the standings by which the deer
are driven into the toils, struck with noble indignation he
exclaimed, "By God and his mother, I wiil serve you just
such a turn, if ever it come in my way." \Here was a noble
mind, who forgot that he was a king, under such circum-
stances, and could not think himself allowed to injure a man
rven of the lowest conditionT) In the meantime, the regard

2l4 / WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. U ". c 13.

his sijAijects entertained for him was extreme, as was also the
feai" of foreigners ; for God assisted his simplicitj, that he
might be feared, for he knew not how to be angry. But
however indolent or unassuming himself might be esteemed,
he had nobles capable of elevating him to the highest pitch :
for instance, Siward, earl of the Northumbrians ; who, at his
command, engaging with Macbeth, the Scottish king, de-
prived him both of life and of his kingdom, and placed on
the throne Malcolm, who was the son of the king of Cum-
bria : * again, Leofric, of Hereford ; he, with liberal regard,
defended him against the enmity of Godwin, who trusting to
the consciousness of his own merits, paid little reverence to
the king. Leofric and his wife Godifa, generous in their
deeds towards God, built many monasteries, as, Coventry,
St. Mary's at Stow, Wenlock, Leon, and some others ; to
the rest he gave ornaments and estates ; to Coventry he con-
signed his body, with a very large donation of gold and
silver. /Harold too, of the West Saxons, the son of Godwin ;
who byviis abilities destroyed two brothers, kings of the
Welsh, Rees and Griffin ; and reduced all that barbarous
country to the state of a province under fealty to the kingy
-Diesej^theless, there were some things which obscured the
.glory oi H.clwarH's^time^t— the-iironasteries were deprived of
their monks ; false sentences were passed by depraved men ;
his mother's property, at his command, was almost entirely
taken from her. But the injustice of these transactions was
extenuated by his favourers in the following manner : the
ruin of the monasteries, and the iniquity of the judges, are
said to have taken place without his knowledge, through the
insolence of Godwin and his sons, who used to laugh at the
easiness of the king : but afterwards, on being apprised of
this, he severely avenged it by their banishment : his mother
had for a long time mocked at the needy state of her son,
nor ever assisted him ; transferring her hereditary hatred of
the father to the child ; for she had both loved Canute more
when living, and more commended him when dead : besides,
accumulating money by every method, she had hoarded it,
regardless of the poor, to whom she would give nothing, for
fear of diminishing her heap. Wherefore that wliich had

* This brief allusion to Macbeth rather disproves the historical accuracj'
of Shakespere. See the Saxon Chronicle.

A.V. 1043.: EARL GODWIN. 215

been so unjustly gathered together, was not improperly-
taken away, that it might be of service to the poor, and re-
plenish the king's exchequer. Though much credit is to be
attached to those who relate these circumstances, yet I find
her to have been a religiously-disposed woman, and to have
expended her property on ornaments for the church of Win-
chester, and probably upon others.* But to return : Edward
receiving the mournful intelligence of the death of Hardeca-
nute, was lost in uncertainty what to do, or whither to be-
take himself. While he was revolving many things in his
mind, it occurred as the better plan to submit his situation
to the opinion of Godwin. To Godwin therefore he sent
messengers, requesting, that he might in security have a con-
ference with him. Godwin, though for a long time hesita-
ting and reflecting, at length assented, and when Edward
came to him and endeavoured to fall at his feet, he raised
him up ; and when relating the death of Hardecanute, and
begging his assistance to effect his return to Normandy, God-
win made him the greatest promises. He said, it was better
for him to live with credit in power, than to die ingloriously
in exile : that he was the son of Ethelred, the grandson of
Edgar : that the kingdom was his due : that he was come to
mature age, disciplined by difficulties, conversant in the art
of well-governing from his years, and knowing, from his for-
mer poverty, how to feel for the miseries of the people : if he
thought fit to rely on him, there could be no obstacle ; for
his authority so preponderated in England, that wherever he
inclined, there fortune was sure to favour : if he assisted
him, none would dare to murmur ; and just so was the con-
trary side of the question : let him then only covenant a firm
friendship with himself ; undiminished honours for his sons,
and a marriage with his daughter, and he who was now
shipwrecked almost of life and hope, and imploring the as
sistance of another, should shortly see himself a king.

There was nothing which Edward would not promise, from
the exigency of the moment : so, pledging fidelity on both
sides, he confirmed by oath every thing which was demanded.
Soon after convening an assembly at Gillingham, Godwin,

• This seems the foundation of the fable of Emma and the Plough-
shares : as the fi^Ri apparent promulgator of it vas a constant reader and
amplifier of Malniesbur}-. See Ric. Divisiensis, MS. C. C. C, Cant. No. 339.

216 "VnLLAM OF MALMESBURT. Lair c.l3.

unfolding his reasons, caused hini^o be received as king, and
homage was paid to him by all. (Be was a man of ready wit,
and spoke fluently in the vernacular tongue ; powerful in
speech, powerful in bringing over the people to whatever he
desired. Some yielded to his authority ; some were influ-
enced by presents ; others admitted the right of Edward ;
and the few who resisted in defiance of justice and equity,
were carefully marked, and afterwards driven out of
England.^

Edward was crowned with great pomp at Winchester, on
Easter-day, and was instructed by Eadsine, * the archbishop,
in the sacred duties of governing. This, at the time, he
treasured up with readiness in his memory, and afterwards
displayed in the holiness oi his conduct. The above-men-
tioned Eadsine, in the following year, falling into an incurable
disease, appointed as his successor Siward, abbat of Abing-
don ; communicating his design only to the king and the
earl, lest any improper person should aspire to so great an
eminence, either by solicitation or by purchase. Shortly
after the king took Edgitha. the daughter of Godwin, to
wife ; a woman whose bosom was the school of every liberal
art, though little skilled in earthly matters : on seeing her, if
you were amazed at her erudition, you must absolutely lan-
guish for the purity of her mind, and the beauty of her per-
son. Both in her husband's life-time, and afterwards, she
was not entirely free from suspicion of dishonour ; but when
dying, in the time of king William, she voluntarily satisfied
the by-standers of her unimpaired chastity, by an oath.
When she became his wife, the king acted towards her so
delicately, that he neither removed her from his bed, nor
knew her after the manner of men. I have not been able to
discover, whether he acted thus from dislike to her family,
which he prudently dissembled from the exigency of the
times, or out of pure regard to chastity: yet it is most
notoriously affirmed, that he never violated his purity by
connexion with any woman.

But since I have gotten thus far, I wish to admonish my
reader, that the track of my history is here but dubious,

• " Eadsine was translated from Winchester to Canterbury in 1 038. The
&ucn Chronicle (p. 416) states, that he consecrated Edward, at VVinchet-
ter,on Easter day, and before all people well admonished him." — Haeut.

A.r lOU— 1052.1 PARTIES AND FEUDS. 217

because the truth of the facts hangs in suspense. It is to be
observed, that the king had sent for several Normans, who
had formerly slightly ministered to his wants when in exile.
Among these was Robert, whom, from being a monk of
Jumieges, he had appointed bishop of London, and after-
wards archbishop of Canterbury. The English of our times
vilify this person, together with the rest, as being the im-
peacher of Godwin and his sons ; the sower of discord ; the
purchaser of the archbishopric: they say too, that Godwin
and his sons were men of liberal mind, the stedfast pro-
moters and defenders of the government of Edward; and
that it was not to be wondered at, if they were hurt at see-
ing men of yesterday, and strangers, preferred to themselves ;
still, that they never uttered even a harsh word against the
king, whom they had formerly exalted to the throne. On
the opposite hand the Normans thus defended themselves:
they allege, that both himself and his sons acted with the
greatest want of respect, as well as fidelity, to the king and
his party ; aiming at equal sovereignty with him ; often ridi-
culing his simplicity ; often hurling the shafts of their wit
against him: that the Normans could not endure this, but
endeavoured to weaken their power as much as possible;
and that God manifested, at last, with what kind of purity
Godwin had served him. For, after his piratical ravages,
of which we shall speak hereafter, when he had been rein-
stated in his original favour, and was sitting with the king
at table, the conversation turning on Alfred, the king's
brother, " I perceive," said he, " 0 king, that on every
recollection of your brother, you regard me with angry coun-
tenance ; but God forbid that I should swallow this morsel,
if I am conscious of any thing which might tend, either to
his danger or your disadvantage." On saying this, he was
choked with the piece he had put into his mouth, and closed
his eyes in death: being dragged from under the table by
Harold his son, who stood near the king, he was buried in
the cathedral of Winchester.

On account of these feuds, as I have observed, my narra-
tive labours under difficulties, for I cannot precisely ascertain
the truth, by reason either of the natural dislike of these
nations for each otlier, or because the English disdainfully
bear with a supej'ior, and the Normans cannot endure an

218 WILLIAM OF MALMESBL'RY. [b. n. c. 13.

equaL In the following book, however, when the oppor-
tunity occurs for relating the arrival of the Normans in
England, I shall proceed to speak of their habits ; at present
I shall glance, with all possible truth, at the grudge z£ the
king against Godwin and his sons.

Eustace, * earl of Boulogne, the father of Godfrey and
Baldwin, who, in our times, were kings of Jerusalem, had
married the king's sister, Goda, who had borne a son, named
Ralph, to her former husband, Walter of Mantes. This son,
at that time earl of Hereford, was both indolent and cow-
ardly ; he had been beaten in battle by the Welsh, and left
his county and the city, together with the bishop, to be con-
sumed with fire by the enemy ; the disgrace of which trans-
action was wiped off by the valour of Harold, who arrived
opportunely. Eustace, therefore, crossing the channel, from
Whitsand to Dover, went to king Edward on some unknown
business. When the conference was over, and he had ob-
tained his request, he was returning through Canterbury, f
where one of his harbingers, dealing too fiercely with a citi-
zen, and demanding quarters with blows, rather than en-
treaty or remuneration, irritated him to such a degree, that
he put him to death. Eustace, on being informed of the
fact, proceeded with all his retinue to revenge the murder of
his servant, and killed the perpetrator of the crime, together
with eighteen others : but the citizens flying to arms, he lost
twenty-one of his people, and had multitudes wounded;
himself and one more with difficulty making their escape
during the confusion. Thence returning to court and pro-
curing a secret audience, he made the most of his own story,
and excited the anger of the king against the English. God-
>vin, being summoned by messengers, arrived at the palace.

* Eustace II, sumamed Aux Grenons. He succeeded his father,
Eustace I, in 1049 ; and married, in 1050, Goda, daughter of king Ethel-
bert, and widow of Gauthier comte de Mantes, by whom he had no issue ;
but by his wife Ida he left three sons; Eustace, who succeeded him,
Godefroi, created, in 1076, marquis d'Anvers by tTie emperor Henry IV,
and afterwards due de Bouillon, was elected king of Jerusalem in 1099,
(23rd July); and, dying 18th July, 1100, was succeeded by his brother
Baudoiiin, comte d'Edesse. — Hardy.

t He means Dover ; according to the Saxon Chronicle, from which he
borrows the account. Eustace stopped at Canterbury to refresh himself
and hia people, and afterwards set out for Dover.— Sax. Chron. pnge 421:

A-D. 1050.] GODWIN BANISHED. 219

When the business was related, and the king was dwelling
more particularly on the insolence of the citizens of Canter-
bury, this intelligent man perceived that sentence ought not
to be pronounced, since the allegations had only been heard
on one side of the question. In consequence, though the
king ordered him directly to proceed with an army into
Kent, to take signal vengeance on the people of Canterbury,
still he refused : both because he saw with displeasure, that
all foreigners were gaining fast upon the favour of the king ;
and because he was desirous of evincing his regard to his
countrymen. Besides, his opinion was more accordant, as it
should seem, with equity, which was, that the principal
people of that town should be mildly summoned to the king's
court, on account of the tumult; if they could exculpate
themselves, they should depart unhurt; but if they could
not, they must make atonement, either by money, or by cor-
poral punishment, to the king, whose peace they had broken,
and to the earl, whom they had injured: moreover, that it
appeared unjust to pass sentence on those people unheard,
who had a more especial right to protection. After this the
conference broke up ; Godwin paying little attention to the
indignation of the king, as merely momentary. In conse-
quence of this, the nobility of the whole kingdom were com-
manded to meet at Gloucester, that the business might there
be canvassed in full assembly. Thither came those, at that
time, most renowned Northumbrian earls, Siward and
Leofric, and all the nobility of England. Godwin and his
sons alone, who knew that they were suspected, not deeming
it prudent to be present unarmed, halted with a strong force
at Beverstone, giving out that tliey had assembled an army
to restrain the Welsh, who, meditating independence on the
king, had fortified a town in the county of Hereford, where
Sweyn, one of the sons of Godwin, was at that time in com-
mand. The Welsh, however, who had come beforehand to
the conference, had accused them of a conspiracy, and ren-
dered them odious to the whole court; so that a rumour
prevailed, that the king's army would attack them in that
very place. Godwin, hearing this, sounded the alarm to his
party ; told them that they should not purposely withstand
their sovereign lord ; but if it came to hostilities, they should
not retreat without avenging themselves. And, if better

220 WILLIAM OF MAL3IESBURY. [b. u. c 13.

counsels had not intervened, a dreadful scene of misery, and
a worse than civil war, would have ensued. Some small
share of tranquillity, however, being restored, it was ordered
that the council should be again assembled at London ; and
that Sweyn, the son of Godwin, should appease the king's
anger by withdrawing himself: that Godwin and Harold
should come as speedily as possible to the council, with this
condition: that they should be unarmed, bring with them
only twelve men, and deliver up to the king the command of
the troops which they had throughout England. This on
the other hand they refused ; observing, that they could not
go to a party-meeting without sureties and pledges; that
they would obey their lord in the surrender of the soldiers,
as well as in every thing else, except risking their lives and
reputation : should they come unarmed, the loss of life might
be apprehended; if attended with few followers, it would
detract from their glory. The king had made up his mind
too firmly, to listen to the entreaties of those who interceded
with him; wherefore an edict was published, that the.y
should depart from England within five days. Godwin and
Sweyn retired to Flanders, and Harold to L^eland. His earl-
dom was given to Elgar, the son of Leofric, a man of active
habits ; who, receiving, governed it with ability, and readily
restored it to him on his return; and afterwards, on the
death of Godwin, when Harold had obtained the dukedom
of his father, he boldly reclaimed it, though, by the accusa-
tion of his enemies, he was banished for a time. All the
property of the queen was seized, and herself delivered into
the custody of the king's sister at Wherwell, lest she alone
should be void of care, whilst all her relations were sighing
for their country.

The following year, the exiles, each emerging from his
station, were now cruising the British sea, infesting the
coast with piracy, and carrying off rich booty from the sub-
stance of their countrymen. Against these, on the king's
part, more than sixty sail lay at anchor. Earls Odo and
Ralph, relations of the king, were commanders of the fleet.
Nor did this emergency find Edward himself inactive ; since
he would pass the night on ship-board, and watch the sallies
of the plunderers ; diligently compensating, by the wisdom
of his counsel, for that personal service which age and in-

4.D. 1051.] RETURN OF GODWIN. 221

firmity denied. But when they had approached each other,
and the conflict was on the eve of commencing, a very thick
mist arose, which in a moment obscured the sight of the
opponents, and repressed the pitiable audacity of men. At
last Godwin and his companions were driven, by the im-
petuosity of the wind, to the port they had left ; and not long
after returning to their own country with pacific dispositions,
they found the king at London, and were received by him on
soliciting pardon. The old man, skilled in leading the minds
of his audience by his reputation and his eloquence, dex-
terously exculpated himself from every thing laid to his
charge ; and in a short time prevailed so far, as to recover
his honours, undiminished, for himself and for his children ;
to drive all the Normans, branded with ignominy, from Eng-
land ; and to get sentence passed on Robert, the archbishop,
and his accomplices, for disturbing the order of the king-
dom and stimulating the royal mind against his subjects.
But he, not waiting for violent measures, had fled of his own
accord while the peace was in agitation, and proceeding to
Rome, and appealing to the apostolical see on his case, as he
was returning through Jumieges, he died there, and was
buried in the church of St. Mary, which he chiefly had built
at vast expense. While he was yet living, Stigand, who
was bishop of Winchester, forthwith invaded the archbishopric
of Canterbury : a prelate of notorious ambition, who sought
after honours too keenly, and who, through desire of a
higher dignity, deserting the bishopric of the South Saxons,
had occupied Winchester, which he held with the archr
bishopric. For this reason he was never honoured with the
pall by the papal see, except that one Benedict, the usurper,
as it were, of the papacy, sent him one ; either corrupted by
money to grant a thing of this kind, or else because bad
people are pleased to gratify others of the same description.
But he, through the zeal of the faithful, being expelled by
Nicholas, who legally assumed the papacy from being bishop
of Florence, laid aside the title he so little deserved. Sti
gand, moreover, in the time of king William, degraded by
the Roman cardinals and condemned to perpetual imprison-
ment, could not fill up the measure of lus insatiable avidity
even in death. For on his decease, a small key was dis-
covered among his secret recesses, which on being applied tc

222 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b, ii. c. 13.

the lock of a chamber-cabinet, gave evidence of papers, de-
scribing immense treasures, and in which were noted both
the quality and the quantity of the precious metals which
this greedy pilferer had hidden on all his estates : but of this
hereafter : I shall now complete the history of Godwin which
I had begun.

When he was a young man he had Canute's sister to wife,
by whom he had a son, who in his early youth, while proudly
curveting on a horse which his grandfather had given him,
was carried into the Thames, and perished in the stream :
his mother, too, paid the penalty of her cruelty ; being killed
by a stroke of lightning. For it is reported, that she was in
the habit of purchasing companies of slaves in England, and
sending them into Denmark ; more especially girls, whose
beauty and age rendered them more valuable, that she might
accumulate money by this horrid traffic. After her death,
he married another wife,* whose descent I have not been
able to trace ; by her he had Harold, Sweyn, Wulnod,
Tosty, Girth, and Leofwine. Harold became king for a few
months after Edward ; and being overcome by William at
Hastings, there lost his life and kingdom, together with his
two younger brothers. Wulnod, given by his father as an
hostage, was sent over to Normandy by king Edward, where
he remained all that king's time in inextricable captivity ; and
being sent back into England during WilUam's reign, grew
old in confinement at Salisbury ; Sweyn being of an obsti-
nate disposition, and faithless to the king, frequently revolted
from his father, and his brother Harold, and turning pirate,
tarnished the virtues of his forefathers, by his depredations
on the coast : at last struck with remorse for the murder of
BrunOjf a relation, or as some say, his brother, he went to
Jerusalem, and returning thence was surprised by the Sara-
cens, and put to death : Tosty, after the death of Siward,
was preferred to the earldom of Northumbria by king Ed-

• Earl Godwin's second wife's name was Gytha. (Saxon Chron. and
Flor. Wigom.)— Hardy.

+ Sweyn had debauched an abbess, and being enraged that he was not
allowed to retain her as his wife, he fled to Flandera. Shortly after he
returned, and intreated Bruno or Beom to accompany him to the king, and
to intercede for his pardon : but it should seem this was a mere pretence :
as he forced him on ship-board, and then put him to death. V. Flor.
Wigom, A.D. 1049. Chron. Sax. a.d. 1046, p. 419.

A.D.1065.- aod-win's family. 223

ward, and presided over that province for nearly ten years ;
at the end of which he impelled the Northumbrians to rebel,
by the asperity of his manners. For finding him unattended,
they drove him from the district ; not deeming it proper to
kill him, from respect to his dignity : but they put to death
his attendants both English and Danes, appropriating to
their own use, his horses, his arms, and his effects. As soon
as this rumour, and the distracted state of the country reached
the king, Harold set forward to avenge the outrage. The
Northumbrians, though not inferior in point of numbers, yet
preferring peace, excused themselves to him for the transac-
tion ; averring, that they were a people free-born, and freely
educated, and unable to put up with the cruelty of any
prince ; that they had been taught by their ancestors either
to be free, or to die ; did the king wish them to be obedient,
he should appoint Morcar, the son of Elgar, to preside over
them, who would experience how cheerfully they could obey,
provided they were treated with gentleness. On hearing
this, Harold, who regarded the quiet of the country more
than the advantage of his brother, recalled his army, and,
after waiting on the king, settled the earldom on Morcar.
Tosty, enraged against every one, retired with his wife and
children to Flanders, and continued there till the death of
Edward : but this I shall delay mentioning, while I record
what, as I have learned from ancient men, happened in his
time at Rome.

Pope Gregory the Sixth,* first called Gratian, was a man
of equal piety and strictness. He found the power of the
Roman pontificate so reduced by the negligence of his pre-
decessors, that, with the exception of a few neighbouring
towns, and the offerings of the faithful, he had scarcely any-
thing whereon to subsist. The cities and possessions at a
distance, which were the property of the church, were for-
cibly seized by plunderers ; the public roads and highways
throughout all Italy were thronged with robbers to such a
degree, that no pilgrim could pass in safety unless strongly

* " Pagi places the commencement of Gregory's papacy in May 1044,
but Ughelli cites a charter in which the month of August, 1045, is stated
to be in the first year of his pontificate. He was deposed at a council held
at Sutri, on Chnstmas-day, a.d. 1046, for having obtained the holy see ov
simony. Mr. Sharpe remarks that Malmesbury's character of this pope la
considered as apocryphal. Compare Rodul Glaber, lib. v. c, 5." — Ha&dt

224 WILLIAM OP MALMESBLTIY. [b.ii.c.13

guarded. Swarms of thieves beset eveiy path, nor could
the traveller devise any method of escaping them. Their
rage was equally bent against the poor and the rich ; en-
treaty or resistance were alike unavailing. The journey to
Rome was discontinued by every nation, as each had much
rather contribute his money to the churches in his own
country, than feed a set of plunderers with the produce of
his labours. And what was the state of that city which of
old was the only dwelling-place of holiness ? Why there an
abandoned set of knaves and assassins thronged the very
forum. If any one by stratagem eluded the people who lay
in wait upon the road, from a desire even at the peril of de-
struction to see the church of the apostle ; yet then, encoun-
tering these robbers, he was never able to return home with-
out the loss either of property or of life. Even over the
very bodies of the holy apostles and martyrs, even on the sacred
altars were swords unsheathed, and the offerings of pilgrims,
ere well laid out of their hands, were snatched away and
consumed in drunkenness and fornication. By such evils
was the papacy of Gregory beset. At first he began to deal
gently with his subjects ; and, as b.^came a pontiff, rather by
love than by terror ; he repressed the delinquents more by
words than by blows ; he entreated the townsmen to abstain
from the molestation of pilgrims, and the plunder of sacred
offerings. The one, he said, was contrary to nature, that
the man who breathed the common air could not enjoy the
common peace ; that Christians surely ought to have liberty
of proceeding whither they pleased among Christians, since
they were all of the same household, all united by the tie of
the same blood, redeemed by the same price : the other, he
said, was contrary to the command of God, who had
ordained, that " they who served at the altar, should live by
the altar ;" moreover, that " the house of God ought to be
the house of prayer, not a den of thieves," nor an assembly
of gladiators ; that they should allow the offerings to go to
the use of the priests, or the support of the poor ; that he
would provide for those persons whom want had compelled
to plunder, by giving them some honest employment to pro-
cure their subsistence; that such as were instigated by
avaricious desire, should desist immediately for the love of
God and The credit of the world. He invited, by mandates

4 0. 1065.] CHARACTER OF GREGORY VI. 225

ar.d epistles, those who had invaded the patrimony of tlie
church, to restore what did not belong to them, or else to
prove in the Roman senate, that they held it justly ; if they
would do neither, they must be told that they were no longer
members of the church, since they opposed St. Peter, the
head of the church, and his vicar. Perpetually haranguing
to this effect, and little or nothing profiting by it, he endea-
voured to cure the inveterate disorder by having recourse to
harsher remedies. He then separated from the body of the
church, by the brand of excommunication, all who were
guilty of such practices, and even those who associated or
conversed with the delinquents. Though he acted strictly
according to his duty, yet his diligence in this business had
well nigh proved his destruction ; for as one says, " He who
accuses a mocker, makes himself an enemy," so the aban-
doned crew began to kick against this gentle admonition ;
to utter their threats aloud; to clash their arms around
the walls of the city, so as nearly even to kill the pope.
Finding it now absolutely necessary to cut short the evil,
he procured arms and horses from every side, and equipped
troops of horse and foot. Taking possession, in the first
place, of the church of St. Peter, he either killed or put
to flight the plunderers of the oblations. As fortune
appeared to favour his designs, he proceeded farther; and
despatching all who dared resist, restored to their original
jurisdiction all the estates and towns which had been for a
considerable time lost. In this manner, peace, which had
been long driven into banishment by the negligence of many,
was restored to the country by the exertions of an indivi-
dual. Pilgrims now began seeurely to travel on the public
ways, which had been deserted ; they feasted their eyes with
pleasure on the ancient wonders within the city ; and, hav-
ing made their offerings, they returned home with songs of
joy. In the meantime the common people of Rome, who
had been accustomed to live by theft, began to call him san-
guinary, and not worthy to offer sacrifice to God, since he
was stained by so many murders ; and, as it generally hap-
pens that the contagion of slander spreads universally, even
the cardinals themselves joined in the sentiments of the peo-
ple ; so that, when this holy man was confined by the sick-
ness which proved his death, they, after consulting among

Q

226 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. n. c. iJ.

themselves, with matchless insolence recommended him not
to think of ordering himself to be buried in the church of
St. Peter with the rest of the popes, since he had polluted
his office by being accessory to the death of so many men.
Resuming spirit, however, and sternly regarding them, he
addressed them in the following manner :

" If you possessed either a single spark of human reason,
or of the knowledge of divine truth, you would hardly have
approached your pontiff with so inconsiderate an address ;
for, throughout my whole life, I have dissipated my own
patrimony for your advantage, and at last have sacrificed the
applause of the world for your rescue. If any other persons
were to allege what you urge in defamation of me, it would
become you to silence them by explaining away the false
opinions of fools. For whom, I pray you, have I laid up
treasure ? For myself perhaps ? and yet I already possessed
the treasures of my predecessors, which were enough for
any man's covetousness. To whom have I restored safety
and liberty ? You will reply, to myself perhaps ? And yet
I was adored by the people, and did, without restraint, what-
ever I pleased; entire orations teemed with my praises;
every day resounded my applause. These praises and these
applauses have been lost to me, through my concern for your
poverty. Towards you I turned my thoughts; and found
that I must adopt severer measures. A sacrilegious robber
fattened on the produce of your property, while your subsist-
ence was only from day to day. He, from the offerings be-
longing to you, was clad in costly silk ; while you, in mean
and tattered clothing, absolutely grieved my sight. In con-
sequence, when I could endure this no longer, I acted with
hostility to others, that I might get credit for the clergy,
though at the loss of the citizens. However, I now find I
have lavished my favours on the ungrateful ; for you publicly
proclaim what others mutter only in secret. I approve, in-
deed, your freedom, but I look in vain for your affection. A
dying parent is persecuted by his sons concerning his burial.
Will you deny me the house common to all living? The
harlot, the usurer, the robber, are not forbidden an entrance
to the church, and do you refuse it to the pope ? What sig-
nifies it whether the dead or the living enter the sanctuary,
except it be, that the living is subject to many temptations,

A.D. 1065. CHARACTER OF GREGORY VI. 227

SO that he cannot be free from spot even in the church ; often
finding matter of sin in the very place where he had come to
wash it away; whereas the dead knows not how, nay, he
who wants only his last sad office, has not the power to sin.
What savage barbarity then is it to exclude from the house
of God him in whom both the inclination and the power of
sinning have ceased ! Repent, then, my sons, of your preci-
pitate boldness, if perchance God may forgive you this
crime, for you have spoken both foolishly and bitterly even to
this present hour. But that you may not suppose me to rest
merely on my own authority, listen to reason. Every act of
man ought to be considered according to the intention of his
heart, that the examination of the deed may proceed to that
point whence the design originated; I am deceived if the
Truth does not say the same ; ' K thine eye be simple thy
whole body shall be full of light ; if evil, all thy body shall
be dark.' A wretched pauper hath often come to me to re-
lieve his distress. As I knew not what was about to happen,
I have presented him with divers pieces of money, and dis-
missed him. On his departure he has met with a thief on
the public road, has incautiously fallen into conversation
with him, proclaimed the kindness of the apostoUcal see,
and, to prove the truth of his words, produced the purse.
On their journey the way has been beguiled vrith various
discourse, until the dissembler, loitering somewhat behind,
has felled the stranger with a club, and immediately des-
patched him ; and, after carrying off his money, has boasted
of a murder which his thirst for plunder had excited. Can
you, therefore, justly accuse me for giving that to a stranger
which was the cause of his death ? for even the most cruel
person would not murder a man unless he hoped to fill his
pockets with the money. What shall I say of civil and
ecclesiastical laws ? By these is not the selfsame fact both
punished and approved under different circumstances ? The
thief is punished for murdering a man in secret, whereas the
soldier is applauded who destroys his enemy in battle ; the
homicide, then, is ignominious in one and laudable in the
other, as the latter committed it for the safety of his country,
the former for the gratification of his desire for plunder.
My predecessor Adrian the First, of renowned memory, was
applauded for giving up the investiture of the churches to

Q2

228 TYILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. ;R.:i.c.l3.

Charles the Great ; so that no person elected could be conse-
crated by the bishop till the king had first dignified him with
the ring and staff: on the other hand the pontiffs of our
time have got credit for taking away these appointments
from the princes. What at that time, then, might reason^
ably be granted, may at the present be reasonably taken
away. But why so ? Because the mind of Charles the
Great was not assailable by avarice, nor could any person
easily find access unless he entered by the door. Besides, at
so vast a distance, it could not be required of the papal see
to grant its consent to each person elected, so long as there
was a king at hand who disposed of nothing through avarice,
but always appointed religious persons to the churches, ac-
cording to the sacred ordinances of the canons. At the
present time luxury and ambition have beset every king's
palace; wherefore the spouse of Christ deservedly asserts
her liberty, lest a tyrant should prostitute to an ambitious
usurper. Thus, on either side, may my cause be denied or
affirmed; it is not the office of a bishop either himself to
fight, or to command others to do so; but it belongs to a
bishop's function, if he see innocence made shipwreck of, to
oppose both hand and tongue. Ezekiel accuses the priests
for not strongly opposing and holding forth a shield for the
house of Israel in the day of the Lord. Now there are two
persons in the church of God, appointed for the purpose of
repressing crimes ; one who can rebuke sharply ; the other,
who can wield the sword. I, as you can witness for me,
have not neglected my part ; as far as I saw it could profit,
I did rebuke sharply. I sent a message to him whose busi-
ness it was to bear the sword ; he wrote me word back, that
he was occupied in his war with the Vandals, entreating me
not to spare my labour nor his expense in breaking up the
meetings of the plunderers. If I had refused, what excuse
could I offer to God after the emperor had delegated his
office to me ? Could I see the murder of the townspeople,
the robbery of the pilgrims, and slumber on ? But he who
spares a thief, kills the innocent. Yet it will be objected
that it is not the part of a priest to defile himself with the
blood of any one : I grant it. But he does not defile him-
self, who frees the innocent by the destruction of the guilty.
Blessed, truly blessed, are they who always keep judgment

A.D.1C65.] CHARACTER OF GREGORY VI. 229

and do justice. Phineas and Mattathias were priests most
renowned in fame, both crowned with the sacred mitre, and
both habited in sacerdotal garb ; and yet they both punished
the wicked with their own hands. The one transfixed the
guilty couple with a javelin : the other mingled the blood of
the sacrificer with the sacrifice. If then those persons, re-
garding, as it were, the thick darkness of the law, were,
through divine zeal, transported for mysteries, the shadows
only of those which were to be ; shall we, who see the truth
with perfect clearness, suiFer our sacred things to be pro-
faned? Azarias the priest drove away king Ozias, when
offering incense, and no doubt would have killed him, had he
not quickly departed ; the divine vengeance, however, anti-
cipated the hand of the priest, for a leprosy preyed on the
body of the man whose mind had coveted unlawful things ;
the devotion of a king was disturbed, and shall not the de-
sires of a thief be so ? It is not enough to excuse, I even
applaud this my conduct ; indeed I have conferred a benefit
on the very persons I seem to have destroyed. I have
diminished their punishment in accelerating their deaths.
The longer a wicked man lives the more he will sin, unless
he be such as God hath graciously reserved for a singular
example. Death in general is good for all ; for by it the
just man finds repose in heaven, — the unjust ceases from his
crimes, — the bad man puts an end to his guilt, — the good
proceeds to his reward, — ^the saint approaches to the palm, —
the sinner looks forward to pardon, because death has fixed
a boundary to his transgressions. They then surely ought
to thank me, who through my conduct have been exempted
from so many sufferings. I have urged these matters in my
own defence, and to invalidate your assertions : however,
since both your reasoning and mine may be fallacious, let us
commit all to the decision of God. Place my body, when
laid out in the manner of my predecessors, before the gates
of the church ; and let them be secured with locks and bars.
If God be willing that I should enter, you will hail a
miracle ; if not, do with my dead body according to your
inclination."

Struck by this address, when he had breathed his last,
they carried out the remains of the departed prelate before
the doors, which were strongly fastened; and presently a

230 Wn^LIAM OF MA.LMESBURT. [b. h. c. 13.

whirlwind, sent by God, broke every opposing bolt, and
drove the very doors, with the utmost violence, against the
walls. The surrounding people applaud with joy, and the
body of the pontiff was interred, with all due respect, by
the side of the other popes.

At the same time something similar occurred in England,
not by divine miracle, but by infernal craft ; which when I
shall have related, the credit of the narrative will not be
shaken, though the minds of the hearers should be incredu-
lous ; for I have heard it from a man of such character, who
swore he had seen it, that I should blush to disbelieve.
There resided at Berkeley a woman addicted to witchcraft,
as it afterwards appeared, and skilled in ancient augury : she
was excessively gluttonous, perfectly lascivious, setting no
bounds to her debaucheries, as she was not old, though fast
declining in life. On a certain day, as she was regaling, a
jack-daw, which was a very great favourite, chattered a
little more loudly than usual. On hearing which the wo-
man's knife fell from her hand, her countenance grew pale,
and deeply groaning, " This day," said she, " my plough has
completed its last furrow ; to-day I shall hear of, and suffer,
some dreadful calamity." While yet speaking, the messenger
of her misfortunes arrived; and being asked, why he ap-
proached with so distressed an air ? " I bring news," said he,
"from that village," naming the place, "of the death of your
son, and of the whole family, by a sudden accident." At
this intelligence, the woman, sorely afflicted, immediately
took to her bed, and perceiving the disorder rapidly ap-
proaching the vitals, she summoned her surviving children,
a monk, and a nun, by hasty letters ; and, when they arrived,
with faltering voice, addressed them thus : " Formerly, my
children, I constantly administered to my wretched circum-
stances by demoniacal arts : I have been the sink of every
vice, the teacher of every allurement : yet, while practising
these crimes, I was accustomed to soothe my hapless soul
with the hope of your piety. Despairing of myself, I rested
my expectations on you; I advanced you as my defenders
against evil spirits, my safeguards against my strongest foes.
Now, since I have approached the end of my life, and shall
have those eager to punish, who lured me to sin, I entreat
you by your mother's breasts, if you have any regard, any

aLD. 1065/ STORY OF THE BERKELEY WITCH. 23 1

affection, at least to endeavour to alleviate my torments;
and, altliough you cannot revoke the sentence already passed
upon my soul, yet you may, perhaps, rescue my body, by
these means: sew up my corpse in the skin of a stag; lay
it on its back in a stone coffin ; fasten down the lid with lead
and iron ; on this lay a stone, bound round with three iron
chains of enormous weight; let there be psalms sung for
fifty nights, and masses said for an equal number of days,
to allay the ferocious attacks of my adversaries. If I lie
thus secure for three nights, on the fourth day bury your
mother in the ground ; although I fear, lest the earth, which
has been so often burdened with my crimes, should refuse to
receive and cherish me in her bosom." They did their ut-
most to comply with her injunctions: but alas! vain were
pious tears, vows, or entreaties ; so great was the woman's
guilt, so great the devil's violence. For on the first two
nights, while the choir of priests was singing psalms around
the body, the devils, one by one, with the utmost ease
bursting open the door of the church, though closed with
an immense bolt, broke asunder the two outer chains; the
middle one being more laboriously wrought, remained entire.
On the third night, about cock-crow, the whole monastery
seemed to be overthrown from its very foundation, by the
clamour of the approaching enemy. One devil, more ter-
rible in appearance than the rest, and of loftier stature,
broke the gates to shivers by the violence of his attack.
The priests grew motionless with fear,* their hair stood on
end, and they became speechless. He proceeded, as it ap-
peared, with haughty step towards the coffin, and calling on
the woman by name, commanded her to rise. She replying
that she could not on account of the chains : " You shall be
loosed," said he, "and to your cost:" and directly he broke
the chain, which had mocked the ferocity of the others, with
as little exertion as though it had been made of flax. He
also beat down the cover of the coffin with his foot, and
taking her by the hand, before them all, he dragged her out
of the church. At the doors appeared a black horse, proudly
neighing, with iron hooks projecting over his whole back ;
on which the wretched creature was placed, and, imme-
diately, with the whole party, vanished from the eyes of the
* " Steteruntque coma, et vox faucibus haesit." — Virgil, iEneid iii. 48.

232 WILLIAM OF MALliESBURY. La m. a 13.

beholders; her pitiable cries, however, for assistance, were
heard for nearly the space of four miles. No person will
deern this incredible, who has read St. Gregory's Dialogues;*
who tells, in his fourth book, of a wicked man that had been
buried in a church, and was cast out of doors again by
devils. Among the French also, what I am about to relate
is frequently mentioned. Charles Martel, a man of re-
nowned valour, who obliged the Saracens, when they had
invaded France, to retire to Spain, was, at his death, buried
in the church of St. Denys; but as he had seized much of
the property of almost all the monasteries in France for the
purpose of paying his soldiers, he was visibly taken away
from his tomb by evil spirits, and has nowhere been seen
to his day. At length this was revealed to the bishop of
Orleans, and by him publicly made known.

But to return to Rome : there was a citizen of this place,
youthful, rich, and of senatorial rank, who had recently
married ; and, who calling together his companions, had
made a plentiful entertainment. After the repast, when by
moderate drinking they had excited hilarity, they went out
into the field to promote digestion, either by leaping, or
hurling, or some other exercise. The master of the ban-
quet, who was leader of the game, called for a ball to play
with, and in the meantime placed the wedding ring on the
outstretched finger of a brazen statue which stood close at
hand. But when almost all the others had attacked him
alone, tired with the violence of the exercise, he left oif
playing first, and going to resume his ring, he saw the fin-
ger of the statue clenched fast in the palm. Finding, after
many attempts, that he was unable either to force it off, or
to break the finger, he retired in silence; concealing the
matter from his companions, lest they should laugh at him
at the moment, or deprive him of the ring when he was
gone. Returning thither with some servants in the dead of
night, he was surprised to find the finger again extended,
and the ring taken away. Dissembling his loss, he was
soothed by the blandishments of his bride. When the hour
of rest arrived, and he had placed himself by the side of his
spouse, he was conscious of something dense, and cloud-like,
rolling between them, which might be felt, though not seen,
• There are various stories of this kind in Gregory's Dialogues.

A.D.1137.] THE PRIEST PALUMBUS. 233

and by this means was impeded in his embraces : he heard u
voice too, saying, "Embrace me, since you wedded me to-
day ; I am Venus, on whose finger you put the ring ; I have
it, nor will I restore it." Terrified at such a prodigy, he
had neither courage, nor ability to reply, and passed a sleep-
less night in silent reflection upon the matter. A consider-
able space of time elapsed in this way: as often as he was
desirous of the embraces of his wife, the same circumstance
ever occurred; though in other respects, he was perfectly
equal to any avocation, civil or military. At length, urged
by the complaints of his consort, he detailed the matter to
her parents; who, after deliberating for a time, disclosed it
to one Palumbus, a suburban priest. This man was skilled
in necromancy, could raise up magical figures, terrify devils^
and impel them to do anything he chose. Making an agree-
ment, that he should fill his purse most plentifully, provided
he succeeded in rendering the lovers happy, he called up all
the powers of his art, and gave the young man a letter
which he had prepared ; saying, " Go, at such an hour of
the night, into the high road, where it divides into four
several ways, and stand there in silent expectation. There
will pass by human figures of either sex, of every age, rank,
and condition ; some on horseback, some on foot ; some with-
countenances dejected, others elated with full-swollen inso-
lence ; in short, you will perceive in their looks and gestures,
every symptom both of joy and of grief; though these should
address you, enter into conversation with none of them.
This company will be followed by a person taller, and more
corpulent than the rest, sitting in a chariot ; to him you will,
in silence, give the letter to read, and immediately your wish
vnll be accompUshed, provided you act with resolution."
The young man took the road he was commanded; and, at
night, standing in the open air, experienced the truth of the
priest's assertion by everything which he saw; there was
nothing but what was completed to a tittle. Among other
passing figures, he beheld a woman, in meretricious garb,
riding on a mule ; her hair, which was bound above in a
golden fillet, floated unconfined on her shoulders; in her
hand was a golden wand, with which she directed the pro-
gress of her beast ; she was so thinly . clad, as to be almost
ntiked, and her gestures were wonderfully indecent. But

234 WILLIAM OF MALMESBLTIT. [b. ii. c. 13.

what need of more ? At last came the chief, in appearance,
who, from his chariot adorned with emeralds and pearls, fix-
ing his eyes most sternly on the young man, demanded the
cause of his presence. He made no reply, but stretching
out his hand, gave him the letter. The demon, not daring
to despise the well-known seal, read the epistle, and imme-
diately, lifting up his hands to heaven, "Almighty God,"
said he, " in whose sight every transgression is as a noisome
smell, how long wilt thou endure the crimes of the priest
Palumbus ?" The devil then directly sent some of those
about him to take the ring by force from Venus, who re-
stored it at last, though with great reluctance. The young
man thus obtaining his object, became possessed of his long
desired pleasures without farther obstacle ; but Palumbus,
on hearing of the devil's complaint to God concerning him,
understood that the close of his days was predicted. In
consequence, making a pitiable atonement by voluntarily
cutting off all his limbs, he confessed unheard-of crimes
to the pope in the presence of the Roman people.

At that time the body of Pallas, the son of Evander, of
whom Virgil speaks, was found entire at Rome, to the great
astonishment of all, for having escaped corruption so many
ages. Such, however, is the nature of bodies embalmed,
that, when the flesh decays, the skin preserves the nerves,
and the nerves the bones. The gash which Turnus had
made in the middle of his breast measured four feet and a
half. His epitaph was found to this effect,

Pallas, Evander's son, lies buried here
In order due, transfix'd by Turnus' spear.

Which epitaph I should not think made at the time, though
Carmentis the mother of Evander is reported to have dis-
covered the Roman letters, but that it was composed by
Ennius, or some other ancient poet.* There was a burning
lamp at his head, constructed by magical art ; so that no

• The original is aa follows :

Filius Evandri Pallas, quem lancea Tumi
Militis occidit, more suo jacet hie.

I am unable to say who was the author of this epigram, but it is not too
hazardous to assert that it was not composed either by Enniui or by any
other ancient poet.

AC. 1065.] PRODIGY NEAH NORMANDY. 235

violent blast, no dripping of water could extinguish it.
While many were lost in admiration at this, one person, as
there are always some people expert in mischief, made an
aperture beneath the flame with an iron style, which intro-
ducing the air, the light vanished. The body, when set up
against the wall, surpassed it in height, but some days after-
wards, being drenched with the drip of the eves, it acknow-
ledged the corruption common to mortals ; the skin and the
nerves dissolving.

At that time too, on the confines of Brittany and Nor-
mandy, a prodigy was seen in one, or more properly speak-
ing, in two women : there were two heads, four arms, and
every other part two-fold to the navel ; beneath, were two
legs, two feet, and all other parts single. While one waa
laughing, eating, or speaking, the other would cry, fast, or
remain silent : though both mouths ate, yet the excrement
was discharged by only one passage. At last, one dying, the
other survived, and the living carried about the dead, for the
space of three years, till she dieS also, through the fatigue of
the weight, and the stench of the dead carcass.* Many were
of opinion, and some even have written, that these women
represented England and Normandy, which, though sepa-
rated by position, are yet united under one master. What-
ever wealth these countries greedily absorb, flows into one
common receptacle, which is either the covetousness of
princes, or the ferocity of surrounding nations. England,
yet vigorous, supports with her wealth Normandy now dead
and almost decayed, until she herself perhaps shall fall
through the violence of spoilers. Happy, if she shall ever
again breathe that liberty, the mere shadow of which she
has long pursued ! She now mourns, borne down with ca-
lamity, and oppressed with exactions ; the causes of which
misery I shall relate, after I have despatched some things
pertaining to my subject. For since I have hitherto recorded
the civil and military transactions of the kings of England, I

• There seems no reason to doubt the truth of this circumstance, since
the exhibition of the Siamese twins, the most extraordinary lusus naiune
that has occurred in the nineteenth century. Medical science, aided
by comparative anatomy, has ascertained that the bodies of both man and
the brute creation are susceptible of combinations — not usually occurring in
the couise of nature, — which in former times were thought impossible, and
zs such were universally disbelieved.

236 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Lb. n. c. 13.

may be allowed to expatiate somewhat on the sanctity of cer-
tain of them ; and at the same time to contemplate what
splendour of divine love beamed on this people, from the first
dawning of thdr faith : since I believe you can no where
find the bodies of so many saints entire after death, typifying
the state of final incorruption. I imagine this to have taken
place by God's agency, in order that a nation, situated, as it
were, almost out of the world, should more confidently em-
brace the hope of a resurrection from the contemplation of
the incorruption of the saints. There are, altogether, five
which I have known of, though the residents in many places
boast of more ; Saint Etheldrida,* and Werburga, virgins ;
king Edmund ; archbishop Elphege ;t Cuthbert the ancient
father : who with skin and flesh unwasted, and their joints
flexile, appear to have a certain vital warmth about them,
and to be merely sleeping. Who can enumerate all the other
saints, of different ranks and professions ? whose names and
lives, singly to describe, I have neither intention nor leisure :
yet oh that I might hereafter have leisure ! But I will be
silent, lest I should seem to promise more than I can per-
form. In consequence, it is not* necessary to mention any of
the commonalty, but merely, not to go out of the path of my
subject history, the male and female scions of the royal stock,
most of them innocently murdered ; and who have been con-
secrated martyrs, not by human conjecture, but by divine
acknowledgment. Hence may be known how little indulg-
ence they gave to the lust of pleasure, who inherited eter-
nal glory by means of so easy a death.

In the former book, my history dwelt for some time on the
praises of the most holy Oswald, king and martyr ; among
whose other marks of sanctity, was this, which, according to
some copies, is related in the History of the Angles.^ In
the monastery at Selsey, which Wilfrid of holy memory had

* Sometimes called St. Audry. She was abbess of Ely monastery. St.
Werburga was patroness of Chester monastery.

+ Archbishop of Canterbury, from a.d. 1006 to 1012. See Sax. Chro-
nicle, pp. 402, 403.

:J: Bede, book iv. chap. 14. There are some MSS. which want thi*
chapter. The former editor of Bede accounts for it very saliisfactorily ;
stating that a very ancient MS. in the Cotton Co lection has a note mark-
ing that a leaf was here wanting ; and that those vhich want th6 chapter
were transcripts of this imperfect MS.

A.D. lOoJ.] OSWALD, KING AND MARTYR. 237

filled with Northumbrian monks, a dreadful malady broke
out, and destroyed numbers ; the remainder endeavoured to
avert the pestilence by a fast of three days. On the second
day of the fast, the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, appear-
ing to a youth who was sick with the disorder, animated him
by observing : " That he should not fear approaching death,
as it would be a termination of his present illness, and an
entrance into eternal life ; that no other person of that mon-
astery would die of this disorder, because God had granted
this to the merits of the noble king Oswald, who was that
very day supplicating for his countrymen : for it was on this
day that the king, murdered by the faithless, had in a mo-
ment ascended to the heavenly tribunal ; that they should
search, therefore, in the scroll, in which the names of the
dead were written, and if they found it so, they should put
an end to the fast, give loose to security and joy, and sing
solemn masses to God, and to the holy, king." This vision
being quickly followed by the death of the boy, and the anni-
versary of the martyr being found in the martyrology, and at
the same time the cessation of the disorder being attested by
the whole province, the name of Oswald was from that period
inserted among the martyrs, which before, on account of his
recent death, had only been admitted into the list of the faith-
ful. Deservedly, I say, then, deservedly is he to be cele-
brated, whose glory the divine approbation so signally mani-
fested, as to order him to be dignified with masses, in a
manner, as I think, not usual among men. The undoubted
veracity of the historian precludes the possibility of sup-
posing this matter to be false ; as does also the blessed bishop
Acca,* who was the friend of the author.

Egbert, king of Kent, the son of Erconbert, whom I ha^^e
mentioned before, had some very near relations, descended
from the royal line ; their names were Ethelredf and Ethel-
bert, the sons of Ermenred his uncle. Apprehensive that
they might grow up with notions of succeeding to the king-
dom, and fearful for his safety, he kept them about him for
some time, with very homely entertainment : and, at last,
grudging them his regards, he removed them from his court.

* Acca, bishop of Hexham, a. d. 710, and a great friend of venerable
Bade, who inscribed to him many of his works,
t Or Elbert. See b. i. c. i. p. 15.

238 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. e. 13

Soon after, when they had been secretly despatched by one
of his servants named Thunre, which signifies Thunder, he
buried them under heaps of rubbish, thinking that a murder
perpetrated in privacy would escape detection. The eye of
God however, which no secrets of the heart can deceive,
brought the innocents to light, vouchsafing many cures upon
the spot ; until the neighbours, being roused, dug up the
unsightly heaps of turf and rubbish cast upon their bodies,
and forming a trench after the manner of a sepulchre, they
erected a small church over it. There they remained till the
time of king Edgar, when they were taken up by St. Oswald,
archbishop* of Worcester, and conveyed to the monastery of
Ramsey ; from which period, granting the petitions of the
suppliant, they have manifested themselves by many miracles.

Offa king of the Mercians murdered many persons of con-
sequence for the security, as he supposed, of his kingdom,
without any distinction of friend or foe ; among these was
king Ethelbert ;f thereby being guilty of an atrocious out-
rage against the suitor of his daughter. His unmerited
death, however, is thought to have been amply avenged by
the short reign of Offa's son. Indeed God signalised his
sanctity by such evident tokens, that at this very day the
episcopal church of Hereford is consecrated to his name.
Nor should any thing appear idle or irrelevant, which our
pious and religious ancestors have either tolerated by their
silence, or confirmed by their authority.

What shall my pen here trace worthy of St. Kenelm, a
youth of tender age ? Kenulf, king of the Mercians, his
father, had consigned him, when seven years old, to his sister
Quendrida, for the purpose of education. But she, Msely
entertaining hopes of the kingdom for herself, gave her little
brother in charge to a servant of her household, with an
order to despatch him. Taking out the innocent, under pre-
tence of hunting for his amusement or recreation, he mur-
dered and hid him in a thicket. But strange to tell,s^he
crime which had been so secretly committed in England,
gained publicity in Rome, by God's agency : for a dove,
from heaven, bore a parchment scroll to the altar of St.
Peter, containing an exact account both of his death and

♦ He wai at the same time bishop of Worcester, and archbishop of York.
Seeb.i c. 4, p. 78.

A.©. 1065. ] SAINT WISTAN. 239

place of burlalj As this was written in the English language
it was vainly attempted to be read by the Romans and men
of other nations who were present. Fortunately, however,
and opportunely, an Englishman was at hand, who translated
the writing to the Roman people, into Latin, and gave occa-
sion to the pope to write a letter to the kings of England,
acquainting them with the martyrdom of their countryman.
In consequence of this the body of the innocent was taken
up in presence of a numerous assembly, and removed to
Winchcomb. The murderous woman was so indignant at the
vocal chaunt of the priests and loud applause of the laity,
that she thrust out her head from the window of the chamber
where she was standing, and, by chance, having in her hands
a psalter, she came in course of reading to the psalm " O
God my praise,'* which, for I know not what charm, reading
backwards, she endeavoured to drown the joy of the choris-
ters. At that moment, her eyes, torn by divine vengeance
from their hollow sockets, scattered blood upon the verse
which runs, " This is the work of them who defame me to
the Lord, and who speak evil against my soul." The marks
of her blood are still extant, proving the cruelty of the
woman, and the vengeance of God. The body of the little
saint is very generally adored, and there is hardly any place
in England more venerated, or where greater numbers of
persons attend at the festival ; and this arising from the long-
continued belief of his sanctity, and the constant exhibition
of miracles. ^

»Nor shall my history be wanting in thy praise, Wistan,*'
blessed youth, son of Wimund, son of Withlaf king of the
Mercians, and of Elfleda, daughter of Ceolwulf, who was the
uncle of Kenelm ; I will not, I say, pass thee over in silence,
whom Berfert thy relation so atrociously murdered. And
let posterity know, if they deem this history worthy of perusal,
that there was nothing earthly more praiseworthy than your
disposition ; at which a deacUy assassin becoming irritated,
despatched you :' nor was there any thing more innocent
than your purity towards God ^invited by which, the secret
Judge deemed it fitting to honour you : for a pillar of light,
sent down from heaven, piercing the sable robe of night,

* « Concerning St. Wistan, consult MSS. Harl. 2253. De Martyrio S.
Wistani." — Hardy.

240 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. tntt.cU.

revealed the wickedness of the deep cavern, and brought to
view the crime of the murderer. In consequence, Wistan's
venerable remains were taken up, and by the care of his rela-
tions conveyed toRependun;* at that time a famous monas-
tery, now a villa belonging to the earl of Chester, and its
glory grown obsolete with age ; but at present thou dwellest
at Evesham, kindly favouring the petitions of such as regard
thee.

Bede has related many anecdotes of the sanctity of the
kings of the East Saxons, and East Angles, whose genealogy
I have in the first book of this work traced briefly ; because
I could no where find a complete history of the kings. I
shall however, dilate somewhat on St. Edmund, who held
dominion in East Anglia, and to whom the time of Bede did
not extend. Tiiis province, on the south and east, is sur-
rounded by the ocean ; on the north, by deep lakes, and
stagnant pools, which, stretching out a vast distance in
length, with a breadth of two or three miles, afford abund-
ance of fish for the use of the inhabitants ; on the west it
is continuous with the rest of the island, but defended by
the earth's being thrown up in the form of a rampart. f The
soil is admirable for pasture, and for hunting ; it is full of
monasteries, and large bodies of monks are settled on the
islands of these stagnant waters ; the people are a merry,
pleasant, jovial race, though apt to carry their jokes to ex-
cess. Here, then, reigned Edmund ; a man devoted to God,
ennobled by his descent from ancient kings, and though he
presided over the province in peace for several years, yet
never through the eiFeminacy of the times did he relax his
virtue. Hingwar and Hubba, two leaders of the Danes, came
over to depopulate the provinces of the Northumbrians and
East Angles. The former of these seized the unresisting
king, who had cast away his arms and was lying on the
ground in prayer, and, after the infliction of tortures,J be-
headed him. On the death of this saintly man, the purity of
his past life was evidenced by unheard-of miracles. The
Danes had cast away the head, when severed from the body

* Repton. + Thought to be the Devil's Dyke, on Newmarket

Heath.

t He was tied to a tree, and shot to death with arrows. Abbo Flom.

A.D. 1065.1 CHARACTER OF ST. EDMUND. 241

bv the cruelty of the executioners, and it had been hidden in
a thicket. While his subjects, who had tracked the footsteps
of the enemy as they departed, were seeking it, intending tf
solemnize with due honour the funeral rites of their king
they were struck with the pleasing intervention of God : for
the lifeless head uttered a voice, inviting all who were in
search of it to approach. A wolf, a beast accustomed to
prey upon dead carcasses, was holding it in its paws, and
guarding it untouched ; which animal also, after the manner
of a tame creature, gently followed the bearers to the tomb,
and neither did nor received any injury. The sacred
body was then, for a time, committed to the earth ; turf
was placed over it, and a wooden chapel, of trifling cost,
erected. The negligent natives, however, were soon made
sensible of the virtue of the martyr, which excited their
listless minds to reverence him, by the miracles which he
performed. And though perhaps the first proof of his power
may appear weak and trivial, yet nevertheless I shall subjoin
it. He bound, with invisible bands, some thieves who had
endeavoured to break into the church by night : this was
done in the very attempt ; a pleasant spectacle enough, to
see the plunder hold fast the thief, so that he could neither
desist from the enterprise, nor complete the design. In con-
sequence, Theodred bishop of London, who lies at St. Paul's,
removed the lasting disgrace of so mean a structure, by build-
ing a nobler edifice over those sacred limbs, which evidenced
the glory of his unspotted soul, by surprising soundness, and
a kind of milky whiteness. The head, which was formerly
divided from the neck, is again united to the rest of the body
showing only the sign of martyrdom by a purple seam. One
circumstance indeed surpasses human miracles, Avhich is, that
the hair and nails of the dead man continue to grow : these,
Oswen, a holy woman, used yearly to clip and cut, that they
might be objects of veneration to posterity. Truly this was
a holy temerity, for a woman to contemplate and handle
limbs superior to the whole of this world. Not so Leofstan,
a youth of bold and untamed insolence, who, with many im-
pertinent tjireats, commanded tlie body of the martyr to be
shown to him ; for he was desirous, as he said, of settling
the uncertainty of report by the testimony of his own eye-
sigl't. He paid dearly, however, tor his audacious experi-

B

242 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. la ii. a 13

ment ; for he became insane, and shortly after, died, swarming
with vermin. He felt indeed that Edmund was now capable
of doing, what he before used to do ; that is,

" To spare the suppliant, but confound the proud,"

by which means he so completely engaged the inhabitants of
all Britain to him, that every person looked upon himself as
particularly happy, in contributing either money or gifts to
St. Edmund's monastery : even kings themselves, who rule
others, used to boast of being his servants, and sent him their
royal crown ; redeeming it, if they wished to use it, at a
great price. The exactors of taxes also, who, in other places,
gave loose to injustice, were there suppliant, and ceased their
cavilling at St. Edmund's boundary,* admonished thereto by
the punishment of others who had presumed to overpass it.

My commendations shall also glance at the names of some
maidens of the royal race, though I must claim indulgence
for being brief upon the subject, not through fastidiousness,
but because I am unacquainted with their miracles. Anna
king of the East Angles had three daughters, Etheldrida,
Ethelberga, and Sexberga. Etheldrida, though married to
two husbands, yet by means of saintly continence, as Bede
relates, without any diminution of modesty, without a single
lustful inclination, triumphantly displayed to heaven the
palm of perpetual virginity. Ethelberga, first a nun, and
afterwards abbess, in a monastery in France called Brigis,f
was celebrated for unblemished chastity ; and it is well wor-
thy of remark, that as both sisters had subdued the lusts of
the flesh while living, so, when dead, their bodies remained
uncorrupt, the one in England, and the other in France ; in-
somuch, that their sanctity, which is abundantly resplendent,
may suffice

" To cast its radiance over both the poles."

Sexberga was married to Erconbert king of Kent, and,
after his death, took the veil in the same monastery where
her sister Etheldrida was proclaimed a saint. She had two
daughters by king Erconbert, Earcongota and Ermenhilda.

• This boundary is said to have been formed by Canute, in consequence
of his father Sweyn having been killed by St. Edmund in a vision for
attempting to plunder his territory. See Malm, de Gest. Pontif. lib. ii
f. 136, b. edit. Lond. f Faxemoutier in Brie.

A.D.1065.1 SAINTS illLDRITHA ANI MILBURGA. 243

Of Ercongota, such as wish for information will find it in
Bede ; * Ermenhilda married Wulf here, king of the Mer-
cians, and had a daughter, Werburga, a most holy virgin.
Both are saints : the mother, that is to say, St. Ermenhilda,
rests at Ely, where she was abbess after her mother, Sex-
berga ; and the daughter lies at Chester, in the monastery of
that city, which Hugo earl of Chester, ejecting a few canons
who resided there in a mean and irregular manner, has re-
cently erected. The praises and miracles of both these
women, and particularly of the younger, are there ex-
tolled and held in veneration ; and though they are fa-
vourable to all petitions without delay, yet are they more
especially kind and assistant to the supplications of women
and youths.

Merewald the brother of Wulfhere, by Ermenburga, the
daughter of Ermenred brother of Erconbert king of Kent,
had two daughters : Mildritha and Milburga. Mildritha,
dedicating herself to celibacy, ended her days in the Isle of
Thanet in Kent, Avhich king Egbert had given to her mo-
ther, to atone for the murder of her brothers, Ethelred and
Ethelbert.f In after times, being transferred to St. Augus-
tine's monastery at Canterbury, she is there honoured by the
marked attention of the monks, and celebrated equally for
her kindness and affability to all, as her namej implies. And
although almost every corner of that monastery is filled with
the bodies of saints of great name and merit, any one of
which would be of itself sufficient to irradiate all England,
yet no one is there more revered, more loved, or more grate-
fully remembered ; and she, turning a deaf ear to none who
love her, is present to them in the salvation of their souls.

Milburga reposes at Wenlock :§ formerly well known to the
neighbouring inhabitants ; but for some time after the arri-
val of the Normans, through ignorance of the place of her
burial, she was neglected. Lately, however, a convent of

* Hist. Eccl. b. iii. c. 8, p. 122.

+ In b. i, c. 1, p. 15, it is said the compensation for their murder was made
to their mother ; but here she is called their sister, which is the general ac-
count. When it was left to her to estimate this compensation (i. e. their
weregild), she asked as much land as her stag should compass, at one
course, in the Isle of Thanet ; where she founded the monastery of Min-
ster. Vide W. Thorn, col. 1910, and Natale S. Mildrythae (Saxonice), MS.
"iott Calig. A. xiv. 4. \ " Mild" gentle. j In Shropshire,

e2

244 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 13

Clugniac monks being established there, while a new church
was erecting, a certain boy running violently along the pave-
ment, broke into the hollow of the vault, and discovered the
body of the virgin ; when a balsamic odour pervading the
whole church, she was taken up, and performed so many
miracles, that the people flocked thither in great multitudes.
Large spreading plains could hardly contain the troops of
pilgrims, while rich and poor came side by side, one common
faith impelling all. Nor did the event deceive their expect-
ations : for no one departed, without either a perfect cure,
or considerable abatement of his malady, and some were even
healed of the king's evil, by the merits of this virgin, when
medical assistance was unavailing.

Edward the Elder, of whom I have before spoken at large,
had by his wife Edgiva, several daughters. Among these
was Eadburga, who, when she was scarcely three years old,
gave a singular indication of her future sanctity. Her fa-
ther was inclined to try whether the little girl was inclined
to God, or to the world, and had placed in a chamber the
symbols of diiferent professions ; on one side a chalice, and
the gospels ; on the other, bracelets and necklaces. Hither
the child was brought in the arms of her indulgent attendant,
and, sitting on l^er father's knee, was desired to choose which
she pleased. /Rejecting the earthly ornaments with stern
regard, she instantly fell prostrate before the chalice and the
gospels, and worshipped them with infant adoration^ The
company present exclaimed aloud, and fondly hailed the
prospect of the child's future sanctity ; her father embraced
the infant in a manner still more endearing. " Go," said he,
" whither the Divinity calls thee ; follow with prosperous
steps the spouse whom thou hast chosen, and truly blessed
*hall my wife and myself be, if we are surpassed in holiness
by our daughter." When clothed in the garb of a nun, she
gained the aifection of all her female companions, in the city
of Winchester, by the marked attention she paid them. Nor
did the greatness of her birth elevate her ; as she esteemed
it noble to stoop to the service of Christ. Her sanctity in-
creased with her years, her humility kept pace with her
growth ; so that she used secretly to steal away the socks of
the several nuns at night, and, carefully washing and anoint-
ing tht^m, lay them again upon their beds. Wherefore,

*.». 1065.1 ST. EDITHA's CHASTITY- 245

though God signalized her, while living, by many miracles,
yet I more particularly bring forward this circumstance, to
show that charity began all her works, and humility com-
pleted them : and finally, many miracles in her life-time, and
since her death, confirm the devotion of her heart and the
incorruptness of her body, which the attendants at her
churches at Winchester and Pershore relate to such as are
unacquainted with them.

St. Editha, the daughter of king Edgar, ennobles, with
her relics, the monastery of Wilton, where she was buried,
and cherishes that place with her regard, where, trained from
her infancy in the school of the Lord, she gained his favour
by unsullied virginity, and constant watchings : repressing
the pride of her high birth by her humility. I have heard
one circumstance of her, from persons of elder days, which
greatly staggered the opinions of men : for she led them into
false conclusions from the splendour of her costly dress ;
being always habited in richer garb than the sanctity of her
profession seemed to require. On this account, being openly
rebuked by St. Ethelwold, she is reported to have answered
with equal point and wit, that the judgment of God was
true and irrefragable, while that of man, alone, was fallible ;
for pride might exist even under the garb of wretchedness .
wherefore, " I think," said she, " that a mind may be as pure
beneath these vestments, as under your tattered furs." The
bishop was deeply struck by this speech ; admitting its truth
by his silence, and blushing with pleasure that he had been
chastised by the sparkling repartee of the lady, he held his
peace. St. Dunstan had observed her, at the consecration of
the church of St. Denys, which she had built out of affection
to that martyr, frequently stretching out her right thumb,
and making tlie sign of the cross upon her forehead ; and
being extremely delighted at it, " May this finger," he ex-
claimed, "never see corruption:" and immediately, while
celebrating mass, he burst into such a flood of tears, that he
alarmed with his faltering voice an assistant standing near
him ; who inquiring the reason of it, " Soon," said he, " shall
this blooming rose wither ; soon shall this beloved bird take
its flight to God, after the expiration of six weeks from this
time." The truth of the prelate's prophecy was very shortly
fulfilled ; for on the appointed day, this noble, firmly-minded

246 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUET. [b. n. c. 13.

lady, expired in her prime, at the age of twentj-three years.
Soon after, the same saint saw, in a dream, St. Denys kindly
taking the virgin by the hand, and strictly enjoining, by
divine command, that she should be honoured by her servants
on earth, in the same manner as she was venerated by her
spouse and master in heaven. Miracles multiplying at her
tomb, it was ordered, that her virgin body should be taken
up, and exalted in a shrine ; when the whole of it was found
resolved into dust, except the finger, with the abdomen and
parts adjacent. In consequence of which, some debate ari-
sing, the virgin herself appeared, in a dream, to one of those
who had seen her remains, saying, " It was no wonder, if the
other parts of the body had decayed, since it was customary
for dead bodies to moulder to their native dust, and she, per-
haps, as a girl, had sinned with those members ; but it was
highly just, that the abdomen should see no corruption which
had never felt the sting of lust ; as she had been entirely free
from gluttony or carnal copulation."

Truly both these virgins support their respective monas-
teries by their merits ; each of them being filled with large
assemblies of nuns, who answer obediently to the call of their
mistresses and patronesses, inviting them to virtue. Happy
the man, who becomes partaker of those virgin orisons which
the Lord Jesus favours with kind regard. For, as I have
remarked of the nuns of Shaftesbury, all virtues have long
since quitted the earth, and retired to heaven ; or, if any
where, (but this I must say with the permission of holy
men,) are to be found only in the hearts of nuns ; and surely
those women are higlily to be pnii^ed, who, regardless of the
weakness of their sex, vie with eacli other in the preservation
of their continence, and by such means ascend, triumphant,
to heaven.

I think it of importance to have been acquainted with many
of the royal family of either sex ; as. it may be gathered
from thence that king Edward, concerning whom I was
speaking before I digressed, by no means degenerated from
the virtues of his ancestors. In fact he was famed both for
miracles, and for the spirit of prophecy, as I shall hereafter
relate. In the exaction of taxes he was sparing, and he
abominated the insolence of collectors : in eating and
drinking he was free from the voluptuousness which liia

A.D. TOGS.] ORIGIN OF THE IlOYAL TOUCH. 24^

State allowed : on the more solemn festivals, though dressed
in robes interwoven with gold, which the queen had most
splendidly embroidered, yet still he had such forbearance,
as to be sufficiently majestic, without being haughty ; con-
sidering in such matters, rather the bounty of God, than the
pomp of the world. There was one earthly enjoyment in
which he chiefly delighted ; which was, hunting with fleet
hounds, whose opening in the woods he used with pleasure
to encourage : and again, with the pouncing of birds, whose
nature it is to prey on their kindred species. In these
exercises, after hearing divine service in the morning, he
employed himself whole days. In other respects he* was a
man by choice devoted to God, and lived the life of an angel
in the administration of his kingdom. To the poor and to
the stranger, more especially foreigners and men of religious
orders, he was kind in invitation, munificent in his presents,
and constantly exciting the monks of his own country to
imitate their holiness. He was of a becoming stature ; his
beard and hair milk-white ; his countenance florid ; fair
throughout his whole person ; and his form of admirable
proportion.

The happiness of his times had been revealed in a dream
to Brithwin bishop of Wilton, who had made it public.
For in the time of Canute, when, at Glastonbury, he was
once intent on heavenly watchings, and the thought of the
near extinction of the royal race of the Angles, which
frequently distressed him, came into his mind, sleep stole
upon liim thus meditating ; when behold ! he was rapt on
high, and saw Peter, the chief of the apostles, consecrating
Edward, who at that time was an exile in Normandy, king ;
his chaste life too was pointed out, and the exact period
of his reign, twenty-four years, determined ; and, when
inquiring about his posterity, it was answered, " The
kingdom of the English belongs to God ; after you he will
provide a king according to his pleasure."

But now to speak of his miracles. A young woman had
married a husband of her own age, but having no issue by
the union, the humours collecting abundantly about her neck,
she had contracted a sore disorder ; the glands swelling
in a dreadful manner. Admonished in a dream to have the
part affected washed by the king, she entered the palace, and

248 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURr. [a n. e i:t

the king himself fulfilled this labour of love, by rubbing tin;
woman's neck with his fingers dipped in water. Joyous
health followed his healing hand : the lurid skin opened, so
that worms flowed out with the purulent matter, and the
tumour subsided. But as the orifice of the ulcers was large
and unsightly, he commanded her to be supported at the
royal expense till she should be perfectly cured. However,
before a week was expired, a fair, new skin returned, and
hid the scars so completely, that nothing of the original
wound could be discovered : and within a year becoming the
mother of twins, she increased the admiration of Edward's
holiness. Those who knew him more intimately, affirm that
he often cured this complaint in Normandy : whence appears
how false is their notion, who in our times assert, that the
cure of this disease does not proceed from personal sanctity,
but from hereditary virtue in the royal line.

A certain man, blind from some unknown mischance, had
persisted in asserting about the palace, that he should be
cured, if he could touch his eyes with the water in which
the king's hands had been washed. This was frequently
related to Edward, who derided it, and looked angrily on the
persons who mentioned it ; confessing himself a sinner, and
that the works of holy men did not belong to him. But the
servants, thinking this a matter not to be neglected, tri(»d the
experiment when he was ignorant of it, and was praying in
church. The instant the blind man Avas washed with the
water, the long-enduring darkness fled from his eyes, and
they were filled with joyful light ; and the king, inquiring
the cause of the grateful clamour of the by-standers, was
informed of the fact. Presently afterwards, when, by
thrusting his fingers towards the eyes of the man he had
cured, and perceiving him draw back his head to avoid
them, he had made proof of his sight, he, with uplifted hands,
returned thanks to God. In the same way he cured a blind
man at Lincoln, who survived him many years, a proof of
the royal miracle.

That you may know the perfect virtue of this prince, in
the power of healing more especially, I shall add something
which wiU excite your wonder. Wulwin, surnamed Spille-
corn, the son of Wulmar of Nutgareshale, was one dav
cutting timber in the wood of Bruelle, and indulging in a

*.o. 1065.J KING EDWAKD's VISIONS. 24$i

long sleep after his labour, he lost liis sight for seventeen
years, from the blood, as I imagine, stagnating about his
eyes : at the end of this time, he was admonished in a
dream to go round to eighty-seven churches, and earnestly
entreat a cure of his blindness from the saints. At last he
came to the king's court, where he remained for a long time,
in vain, i«i opposition to the attendants, at the vestibule of
liis chamber. He still continued importunate, however,
without being deterred, till at last, after much difficulty, he
was admitted by order of the king. When he had heard the
dream, he mildly answered, " By my lady St. Mary, I shall
be truly grateful, if God, through my means, shall choose to
take pity upon a wretched creature." In consequence,
though he had no confidence in himself, with respect to
miracles, yet, at the instigation of his servants, he placed his
hand, dipped in water, on the blind man. In a moment the
blood dripped plentifully from his eyes, and ihe man, restored
to sight, exclaimed with rapture, " I see ycu, O king ! I see
you, O king ! " In this recovered state, he had charge of
the royal palace at Windsor, for there the cure had been
performed, for a long time ; surviving his restorer several
years. On the same day, from the same water, three blind
men, and a man with one eye, who were supported on the
royal arms, received a cure ; the servants administering the
healing water with perfect confidence.

On Easter-day, he was sitting at table at Westminster,
with the crown on his head, and surrounded by a crowd of
nobles. While the rest were greedily eating, and making up
for the long fast of Lent by the newly provided viands, he,
with mind abstracted from earthly things, was absorbed in
the contemplation of some divine matter, when presently he
excited the attention of the guests by bursting into profuse
laughter : and as none presumed to inquire into the cause of his
joy, he remained silent as before, till satiety had put an end
to the banquet. After the tables were removed, and as he
was unrobing in his chamber, three persons of rank followed
him ; of these earl Harold was one, the second was an abbat,
and the third a bishop, who presuming on their intimacy
asked the cause of his laughter, observing, that it seemed just
matter of astonishment to see him, in such perfect tranquillity
both of time and occupation, burst into a vulgar laugh, while

260 ■WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY [b.it. c. 13.

all others were silent. " I saw something wonderful," said
he, "and therefore I did not laugh without a cause." At
this, as is the custom of mankind, they began to inquire and
search into the matter more earnestly, entreating that he
would condescend to disclose it to them. After much reluct-
ance, he yielded to their persevering solicitations, and re-
lated the following wonderful circumstance, saying, that the
Seven Sleepers in mount Coelius had now lain for two hun-
dred years on their right side, but that, at the very hour of
his laughter, they turned upon their left ; that they would
continue to lie in this manner for seventy-four years, which
would be a dreadful omen to wretched mortals. For every
thing would come to pass, in these seventy-four years, which
the Lord had foretold to his disciples concerning the end of
the world ; nation would rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom; earthquakes v/ould be in divers places;
pestilence and famine, terrors from heaven and great signs ;
changes in kingdoms ; wars of the gentiles against the Chris-
tians, and also victories of the Christians over the pagans.
Relating these matters to his wondering audience, he de-
scanted on the passion of these sleepers, and the make of
their bodies, though totally unnoticed in history, as readily
as though he had lived in daily intercourse with them. On
hearing this the earl sent a knight ; the bishop a clergyman ;
and the abbat a monk, to Maniches the Constantinopolitan
emperor, to investigate the truth of his declaration ; adding
letters and presents from the king. After being kindly
entertained, Maniches sent them to the bishop of Ephesus,
giving them at the same time what is called a holy letter,
that the martyr-relics of the Seven Sleepers should be shown
to the delegates of the king of England.* It fell out that

* The Seven Sleepers were inhabitants of Ephesus ; six were persons of
some consequence, the seventh their servant. During the Decian persecu-
tion they retired to a cave, whence they despatched their attendant occasion-
ally to purchase food for them. Decius, hearing this, ordered the mouth of the
cave to be stopped up while the fugitives were sleeping. After a lapse of some
hundred years, a part of the masonry at the mouth of the cave falling, the
light flowing in awakened them. Thinking they had enjoyed a good night's
rest, they despatched their servant to buy provision. He finds all appear
strange in Ephesus, and a whimsical dialogue takes place, the citizens
accusing him of having found hidden treasure, he persisting that Y/b offered
the current coin of the empire. At length the attention of the empcTor

AD. 1065.] POPES AND EMPERORS. 251

the presage o. king Edward was proved by all tlie Greeks,
who could swear they had heard from their fathers that the
men were lying on their right side ; but after the entrance of
the English into the vault, they published the truth of the
foreign prophecy to their countrymen. Nor was it long be-
fore the predicted evils came to pass ; for the Hagarens, and
Arabs, and Turks, nations averse to Christ, making havoc of
the Christians, overran Syria, and Lycia, and Asia Minor
altogether, devastating many cities too of Asia Major, among
which was Ephesus, and even Jerusalem itself. At the same
time, on the death of Maniches emperor of Constantinople,
Diogenes, and Michaelius, and Bucinacius, and Alexius, in
turn hurled each other headlong from the throne ; the last of
whom, continuing till our time, left for heir his son John more
noted for cunning and deceit than worth. He contrived
many hurtful plots against the pilgrims on their sacred jour-
ney; but venerating the fidelity of the English, he showed
them every civility, and transmitted his regard for them to
his son.* In the next seven years were three popes, Victor,
Stephen, Nicholas, f who diminished the vigour of the papacy
by their successive deaths. Almost immediately afterwards too
died Henry, the pious emperor of the Romans, and had for suc-
cessor Henry his son, who brought many calamities on the city
of Rome by his folly and his wickedness. The same year
Henry, king of France, a good and active warrior, died by poi-
son. Soon after a comet, a star denoting, as they say, change in
kingdoms, appeared trailing its extended and fiery train along
the sky. Wherefore a certain monk of our monastery,^ by
name Elmer, bowing down with terror at the sight of the
brilliant star, wisely exclaimed, " Thou art come ! a matter of
lamentation to many a mother art thou come ; I have seen

is excited, and he goes in company with the bishop to visit them. They
relate their story and shortly after expire. In consequence of the miracle
they were considered as martyrs. See Capgrave, Legenda Nova.

* On the Norman conquest many English fled to Constantinople, where
they were eagerly received by Alexius, and opposed to the Normans under
Robert Guiscard. Orderic. Vitalis, p. 508.

t Victor II. succeeded Leo IX. in 1056, and died in 1057. Stephen or
Frederic, brother of duke Godefroi, succeeded Victor II. on the second of
August, 1057, and Nicolaus became pope in 1059.

+ That is, of Malmesbury. This Elmer is not to be confoimded with
Elmer or AUmer prior of Canterbury.

252 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. |B.n.c. 13.

thee long since ; but I now behold thee much more terrible,
threatening to hurl destruction on this country." He was a
man of good learning for those times, of mature age, and in his
early youth had hazarded an attempt of singular temerity.
He had by some contrivance fastened wings to his hands and
feet, in order that, looking upon the fable as true, he might
fly like Daedalus, and collecting the air on the summit of a
tower, had flown for more than the distance of a furlong ;
but, agitated by the violence of the wind and the current of
air, as well as by the consciousness of his rash attempt, he
fell and broke his legs, and was lame ever after. He used
to relate as the cause of his failure, his forgetting to provide
himself a tail.

Another prophecy similar to this, Edward uttered when
dying, which I shall here anticipate. When he had lain two
days speechless, on the third, sadly and deeply sighing as he
awoke from his torpor, " Almighty God," said he, " as this
shall be a real vision, or a vain illusion, which I have seen,
grant me the power of explaining it, or not, to the by-
standers." Soon after speaking fluently, "I saw just now,"
continued he, " two monks near me, whom formerly, when
a youth in Normandy, I knew both to have lived in a most
religious manner, and to have died like perfect Christians.
These men, announcing themselves as the messengers of God,
spake to the following effect : ' Since the chiefs of England,
the dukes, bishops, and abbats, are not the ministers of God,
but of the devil, God, after your death, has delivered this
kingdom for a year and a day, into the hand of the enemy,
and devils shall wander over all the land.' And when I said
that I would show these things to my people ; and promised
that they should liberate themselves by repentance, after the
old example of the Ninevites ; ' Neither of these,' said they,

* shall take place ; for they will not repent, nor will God
have mercy on them.' When then, said I, may cessation
from, such great calamities be hoped for ? They replied,

* Whenever a green tree shall be cut through the middle, and
the part cut off, being carried the space of three acres from
the trunk, shall, without any assistance, become again united
to its stem, bud out with flowers, and stretch forth its fruit,
as before, from the sap again uniting ; then may a cessation
of such evils be at last expected.' "

A.D.106&] DEATH OF EDWARJ). . 253

Though others were apprehensive of the truth of this
prediction, yet Stigand, at that time archbishop, received
it with laughter ; saying, that the old man doted through
disease. We, however, find the truth of the presage experi-
mentally ; for England is become the residence of foreigners,
and the property of strangers : at the present time, there is
no Englishman, either earl, bishop, or abbat ; strangers all,
they prey upon the riches and vitals of England ; nor is
there any hope of a termination to this misery. The cause
of which evil, as I have long since promised, it is now high
time that my narrative should endeavour briefly to disclose.

King Edward declining into years, as he had no children
himself, and saw the sons of Godwin growing in power, de-
spatched messengers to the king of fiungary, to send over
Edward, the son of his brother Edmund, with all his family :
intending, as he declared, that either he, or his sons, should
succeed to the hereditary kingdom of England, and that his
own want of issue should be supplied by that of his kindred.
Edward came in consequence, but died almost inunediately
at St. Paul's* in London : he was neither valiant, nor a man
of abilities. He left three surviving children ; that is to
say, Edgar, who, after the death of Harold, was by some
elected king ; and who, after many revolutions of fortune, is
now living wholly retired in the country, in extreme old age :
Christina, who grew old at Romsey in the habit of a nun :
Margaret, whom Malcolm king of the Scots espoused. Bless-
ed with a numerous offspring, her sons were Edgar, and
Alexander, who reigned in Scotland after their father in due
succession : for the eldest, Edward, had fallen in battle with
his father ; the youngest, David, noted for his meekness and
discretion, is at present king of Scotland. Her daughters
were, Matilda, whom in our time king Henry has married,
and Maria, whom Eustace the younger, earl of Boulogne,
espoused. The king, in consequence of the death of his rela-
tion, losing his first hope of support, gave the succession of
England to William earl of Normandy.f He was well
worthy of such a gift, being a young man of superior mind,
who had raised himself to the highest eminence by his un-

* Died and was buried at St. Paul's. Sax. Chron. A. 1057.
t It is hardly necessary to observe, that the succession of William is one
of the most obscure | oints in our history.

254 WILLIAM OF ^L^MESBURY. [b. n. c. 13.

wearied exertion : moreover, he was his nearest relation by
consanguinity, as he was the son of Robert, the son of Richard
the second, whom we have repeatedly mentioned as the
brother of Emma, Edward's mother. Some affirm that
Harold himself was s^nt into Normandy by the king for this
purpose : others, who knew Harold's more secret intentions
say, that being driven thither against his will, by the violence
of the wind, he imagined this device, in order to extricate
himself. This, as it appears nearest the truth, I shall relate.
Harold being at his country-seat at Boseham,* went for
I'ecreation on board a fishing boat, and, for the purpose of
prolonging his sport, put out to sea ; when a sudden tempest
arising, he was driven with his companions on the coast of
Pontlueu. The people of that district, as was their native
custom, immediately assembled from all quarters ; and
Harold's company, unarmed and few in number, were, as it
easily might be, quickly overpowered by an armed multitude,
and bound hand and foot. Harold, craftily meditating a
remedy for this mischance, sent a person, whom he had
allured by very great promises, to William, to say, that he
had been sent into Normandy by the king, for the purpose
of expressly confirming, in person, the message which had
been imperfectly delivered by people of less authority ; but
that he was detained in fetters by Guy earl of Ponthieu, and
could not execute his embassy : that it was the barbarous
and inveterate custom of the country, that such as had escaped
destruction at sea, should meet with perils on shore : that it
well became a man of his dignity, not to let this pass un-
punished : that to suffer those to be laden with chains, who
appealed to his protection, detracted somewhat from Ids own
greatness : and that if his captivity must be terminated by
money, he would gladly give it to earl William, but not to
the contemptible Guy. By these means, Harold was liberated
at William's command, and conducted to Normandy by Guy
in person. The earl entertained him with much respect,
both in banqueting and in vesture, according to the custom
of his country ; and tlie better to learn his disposition, and
at the same time to try his courage, took him with liim in an
expedition he at that time led against Brittany. There,
Harold, well proved both in ability and courage, won tho
• Near Chichester,

A.D 106«.; HAKOLD. 25-5

heart of the Noi-man ; and, still more to ingratiate himself,
he of his own accord, confirmed to him by oath the castle of
Dover, which was under his jurisdiction, and the kingdom
of England, after the death of Edward. Wherefore, he was
honoured both by having his daughter, then a child, be-
trothed to him, and by the confirmation of his ample patri-
mony, and was received into the strictest intimacy. Not
long after his return home, the king was crowned* at Lon-
don on Christmas -day, and being there seized with the
disorder of which he was sensible he should die, he com-
manded the church of Westminster to be dedicated on Inno-
cents-day. f Thus, full of years and of glory, he surren-
dered his pure spirit to heaven, and was buried on the day
of the Epiphany, in the said church, which he, first in Eng-
land, had erected after that kind of style which, now, almost
all attempt to rival at enormous expense. The race of the
West Saxons, which had reigned in Britain five hundred
and seventy-one years, from the time of Cerdic, and two
hundred and sixty-one from Egbert, in him ceased altogether
to rule. For while the grief for the king's death was yet
fresh, Harold, on the very day of the Epiphany, seized the
diadem, and extorted from the nobles their consent ; though
the English say, that it was granted him by the king : but I
conceive it alleged, more through regard to Harold, than
through sound judgment, that Edward should transfer his
inheritance to a man of whose power he had always been
jealous. Still, not to conceal the truth, Harold would have
governed the kingdom with prudence and with courage, in
the character he had assumed, had he undertaken it lawfully.
Indeed, during Edward's lifetime, he had quelled, by lus
valour, whatever wars were excited against him ; wishing to
signalize himself with his countrymen, and looking forward

* It was customary for the king to wear his crowTi on the solemn festi-
vals of Easter> Whitsuntide, and Christmas : it being placed on his head in
due form by the archbishop.

+ " Westminster Abbey was consecrated on the 28th of December, 1 065.
Ailred of Ri>vaulx, in his Life of Edward, states that the church had been
commenced some years before, in performance of a vow the kmg had made
to go to Rome ; but being dissuaded from it, he sent to the pope to obtain
his dispensation from that journey ; the pope granted it, on condition that
Edward should, with the money he would have spent in that voyage, build
a monastery in honour of St. Peter." — Hardy.

Z'^6 WILLTA3I OF MALMESBURY. [b. ii. c. 13.

ivith anxious hope to the crown. He first vanquished
Griffin king of the Welsh, as I have before related, in battle ;
and, afterwards, when he was again making formidable
efforts to recover his power, deprived him of his head ; ap-
pointing as his successors, two of his own adherents, that is,
the brothers of this Griffin, Blegent and Rivallo, who had
obtained his favour by their submission. The same year
Tosty arrived on the H umber, from Flanders, with a fleet of
sixty ships, and infested with piratical depredations those
parts which were adjacent to the mouth of the river ; but
being quickly driven from the province by the joint force of
the brothers, Edwin and Morcar, he set sail towards Scot-
land ; where meeting with Harold Harfager king of Nor- j
way, then meditating an attack on England with three hun- I
dred ships, he put himself under his command. Both, then,
with united forces, laid waste the country beyond the Hum-
ber ; and falling on the brothers, reposing after their recent
victory and suspecting no attack of the kind, they first
routed, and then shut them up in York. Harold, on hear-
ing this, proceeded thither with all his forces, and, each
nation making every possible exertion, a bloody encounter
followed : but the English obtained the advantage, and put
the Norwegians to flight. Yet, however reluctantly posterity
may believe it, one single Norwegian for a long time delayed
the triumph of so many, and such great men. For standing
on the entrance of the bridge, which is called Standford
Brigge,* after having killed several of our party, he pre-
vented the whole from passing over. Being invited to sur-
render, with the assurance that a man of such courage
should experience the amplest clemency from the English, he
derided those who entreated him ; and immediately, with
stern countenance, reproached the set of cowards who were
unable to resist an individual. No one approaching nearer,
as they thought it unadvisable to come to close quarters with
a man who had desperately rejected every means of safety,
one of the king's followers aimed an iron javelin at him from
a distance ; and transfixed him as he was boastfully flourish-
ing about, and too incautious from his security, so that he
yielded the victory to the English. The army immediately

* The battle of Stanford-ljridge was fought on the 25th of September,
101)6. See Saxon. Chron. p. 440.

A.I.. 1066. BATTLE OF HASFINGS. 259

passing over without opposition, destroyed the Tr^^ *^^ reader
hy^ng Norwegians. King Harfager and Tosty -^^^ .^7 third
the king's son, with all the ships, was kindly sent bai}^^ atten-
own country. Harold, elated by his successful ente.^^^^^^S^
vouchsafed no part of the spoil to his soldiers. Where^
many, as they found opportunity, stealing away, deserted th
king, as he was proceeding to the battle of Hastings. For
with the exception of his stipendiary and mercenary soldiers,
he had very few of the people* with him ; on which account,
circumvented by a stratagem of William's, he was routed,
with the army he headed, after possessing the kingdom nine
months and some days. The effect of war in this affair was^
trifling ; it was brought about by the secret and wonderful
counsel of God : since the Angles never again, in any general
battle, made a struggle for liberty, as if the whole strength
of England had fallen with Harold, who certainly might and
ought to pay the penalty of his perfidy, even though it were
at the hands of the most unwarlike people. Nor in saying
this, do I at all derogate from the valour of the Normans, to
whom I am strongly bound, both by my descent, and for the
privileges I enjoy. Stillf those persons appear to me to err,
who augment the numbers of the English, and underrate
their courage ; who, while they design to extol the Normans,
load them with ignominy. A mighty commendation indeed !
that a very warlike nation should conquer a set of people
who were obstructed by tAeir multitude, and fearful through
cowardice ! On the contrary, they were few in number and
brave in the extreme ; and sacrificing every regard to their
bodies, poured forth their spirit for their country. y'But,
however, as these matters await a more detailed narrrative,
I shall now put a period to my second book, that I may re-
turn to my composition, and my readers to the perusal of it,
with fresh ardour.

* What Malmesbury here relates is highly probable, from the shortness
of the time which elapsed from William's landing, to the battle of Hast-
ings,— only fifteen days. In this period, therefore, the intelligence was to
be conveyed to York, and Harold's march into Sussex to be completed ;
of course iew could accompany him, but such as were mounted.

* Will. Pictaviensis, to whom he seems here to allude, asserts that Harold
had collected immense forces from all parts of England ; and that Den-
mark had supplied him with auxiliaries also. But the circumstances men-
tioned in the preceding note show the absurdity of this statement

S

_ ^ ILLIAM OF 3IALMESBIIRT. |» m.

S^k^Mr^ BOOK III.

itJ'^ PREFACE.

P°^?iMANS and English, incited by different motives^. JiaYfi„
written of king William: the former have praised Iihr- to
"excess ; extolling to the utmost both his good and his
\ bad actions: while the latter, out of national hatred, have
\_Jaden their conqueror with undeserved reproach. For my
pajl, as the blood of either people flows in my veins, I shall
steer a middle course: where I am certified of his good
deeds, I shall openly proclaim them ; his bad conduct I
shall touch upon lightly and sparingly, though not so as to
conceal it ; so that neither shall my narrative be condemned
as false, nor will I brand that man with ignominious cen-
sure, almost the whole of whose actions may reasonably be
excused, if not commended. Wherefore I shall willingly
and carefully relate such anecdotes of him, as may be mat-
ter of incitement to the indolent, or of example to the enter-
prising ; useful to the present age, and pleasing to posterity.
But I shall spend little time in relating such things as are of
service to no one, and which produce disgust in the reader,
as well as ill-will to the author. There are always people,
more than sufficient, ready to detract from the actions of the
noble : my course of proceeding will be, to extenuate evil, as
much as can be consistently with truth, and not to bestow
excessive commendation even on good actions. For this
moderation, as I imagine, all true judges will esteem me
neither timid, nor unskilful. And this rule too, my history
will regard equally, with respect both to William and his
two sons ; that nothing shall be dwelt on too fondly ; notliing
untrue shall be admitted. The elder of these did little wor-
thy of praise, if we except the early part of his reign ; gain-
ing, throughout the whole of his life, the favour of the
military at the expense of the people. The second, more
obsequious to his father than to his brother, possessed his
spirit, unsubdued either by prosperity or adversity : on re-
garding his warlike expeditions, it is matter of doubt,
whether he was more cautious or more bold; on contem-
olating their event, whether he was more fortunate o* un-

Aj).1066.] WILLIAM THE FIRST. 259

successful. There will be a time, however, when the reader
may judge for himself. I am now about to begin my third
volume ; and I think I have said enough to make liim atten-
tive, and disposed to receive instruction: his own feelings
will persuade him to be candid.

Of William the First, [a.d. 1066—1087.]

Robert, second son of Richard the Second, after he had,
with great glbry, held the duchy of Normandy for seven
years, resolved on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He had, at
that time, a son seven years of age, born of a concubine,
whose beauty he had accidentally beheld, as she was dan-
cing, and had become so smitten with it, as to form a con-
nexion with her : after which, he loved her exclusively, and,
for some time, regarded her as his wife. He had by her
this boy, named, after his great-great-grandfather, William,
whose future glory was~porfended to"hlflxrother by a dream ;
wEerernlSelmagtlied her intestines were stretched out, and
extended over jthejwhole of Normandy and England : and,
atlhe~very nioment, also, when the infant Burst Into life and
touched the ground, he filled both hands with the rushes
strewed upon the floor, firmly grasping what he had taken
up. This prodigy was joyfully witnessed by the women,
gossipping on the occasion ; and the midwife hailed the pro-
pitious omen, declaring that the boy would be a king?
'TTvery provision being made for tlie expedition to Jeru-
salem,* the chiefs were summoned to a council at Feschamp,
where, at his father's command, all swore fidelity to Wil-
liam : earl Gilbert was appointed His guardian ; »nd the
protection of the earl was assigned to Henry, king of
France. While Robert was prosecuting his journey, the
Normans, each in his several station, united in common for
the defence of their country, and regarded their infant lord
\vith great affection. This fidelity continued till the report
was spread of Robert's deatli, upon which their a^.ction
changed Jfith his fortune ; and then they began severally to
fbrtily~thm' towns, to build cuBlle^, to carry in provisions,

~*"~^ i^^rt's expedition to JerusaJem was jn^i035alL.(Bouq. 14, 420.')
^ ^

260 WILLIA3I OF MALMESBURY. fl. m.

and to seek_jlie_^iJiest_ijppartuiiitieS-Qf_revolting ficam.the
cliild. Inthe meantime, however, doubtlessly by the special
^aid^ God who^hadT^estined him to the^yerejgntj of such
a'STexten ded^empre, he grew_ji{L_uainjured ; while^GilBert,
aiingirslSineir^eSded by:, JJ ,iust and ri^ht :

tfie rest being occupied by the designs of their respective
parties. But Gilbert being at this time killed by his cousin
Rodulph, fire and slaughter raged on all sides. The...coun-
try, formerly most flourishing, was now torn with intestine
li>roilSt and divided at the pleasure of the plunderers ; so that
it was justly entitled to proclaim, " Woe to the land whose
sovereign is a child."*

yWilham, however, as soon as his age permitted, receiving
tte~t>adge of knighthood from the king of France, inspirited
the inhabitants to hope for quiet. The sower of dissension
was one Guy, a Burgundian on his father's side, and grand-
son to Richard the Second by his daughter. William and
Guy^had been children together, and at that time were
equally approaching to manhood. Mutual^ intercourse had
jgroduced an intimacy between them which had ripened
mto frien(^!lipr*Ttoreover, thinking, as they were related,
that he ought to deny him nothing, he had given him the
castles of Briony and Vernon. The Burgundian, unmindful
of this, estranged himself from the earl, feigning sufficient
cause of offence to colour his conduct. It would be tedious,
and useless, to relate what actions were performed on either
side, what castles were taken ; for his perfidy had found
abettors in Nigel, viscount of Coutances, Ralph, viscount
of Bayeux, and Haimo Dentatus, grandfather of Robert,
who was the occupier of many estates in England in our
time. With these persons, this most daring plunderer, al-
lured by vain expectation of succeeding to the earldom,
was-devastftting- ihe wholeT3f"N'ormandy. A sense of duty,
howBver,"eompelle4-the^ guardian-king to succour the des-
perate circunistafices of his ward. Remembering, therefore,
the kindness of his father, and that he had, by his influence,
exalted him to the kingdom, he rushed on the revolters at
Walesdun. Many thousands of them were there slain ;
many drowned in the river Orne, by its rapidity, while,
being hard-pressed, they spurred their horses to ford the
• Ecclesiast. x. 16.

A.D. 1047.] GEOFFREY, EARL OF ANJOU. 261

current. Guy, escaping with difficulty, betook himself to
Briony; but was driven thence by William, and unable to
endure this disgrace, he retired, of his own accord, to Bur-
gundy, his native soil. Here too his unquiet spirit found no
rest ; for being expelled thence by his brother, William, earl
of that province, against whom he had conceived designs, it
appears not what fate befell him. Nigel and Ralph were
admitted to fealty: Haimo fell in the field of battle; after
having become celebrated by his remarkable daring for
having unhorsed the king himself ; in consequence of which
he was despatched by the surrounding guards, and, in ad
miration of his valour, honourably buried at the king's com-
mand. King Henry received a compensation for this favour,
when the Norman lord actively assisted him against Geof-
frey Ma:jj^l at Herle-Mill, which is a fortress in the country
of Anjou^^or William had now attained his manly vigour ;
an object/w dread-gy^n to his elcJers, and though nlnnpj a
mafch for numbers. Unartendea he lYftnlfl """^ '^" A,,r^rt^r^ .
and when unaccompanied, or with only a few followers, dart
int(r the thickest ranks of the enemy. By this expedition
hS^-gained^ the repntatioh of admirable bravery, as well as
the sincerest regard of the king ; so that, with parental
affection, he would often admonish him not to hold life in
contempt by encountering danger so precipitately; a life,
which was the ornament of the French, the safeguard of
the Normans, and an example to both.

At that time Geoffrey* was earl of Anjou, who had boast-
ingly^-tafc^a~the' surname of Martel, as he seemed, by a
ceffaih kind of good fortune, to beat down all his opponents.
Finally, he had made captive, in open battle, his liege lord,
the earl of Poitou ; and, loading him with chains, had com-
pelled him to dishonourable terms of peace ; namely, that he
should yield up Bourdeaux and the neighbouring cities, and
pay an annual tribute for the rest. But he, as it is thought,
through the injuries of his confinement and want of food,
was, after three days, released from eternal ignominy by a
timely death. Martel then, that his effrontery might be
complete, married the stepmother of tlie deceased; taking
his brothers under his protection until they should be capa-

* Geoffrey II., son of Foulques III., earl of Anjou, whom he sue
ceeded, a.d. 1040.

262 "WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [b. m

ble of governing the principality. Next entering the terri-
tories of Theobald, earl of Blois, he laid siege to the city of
Tours; and while he was hastening to the succour of his
subjects, made him participate in their afflictions ; for being
taken, and shut up in prison, he ceded the city from himself
and his heirs for ever. Who shall dare cry shame on this
man's cowardice, who, for the enjoyment of a little longer
life, defrauded his successors for ever of the dominion of
so great a city? for although we are too apt to be severe
judges of others, yet we must know, that we should consult
our own safety, if we were ever to be placed in similar cir-
cumstances. In this manner Martel, insolent from the ac-
cession of so much power, obtained possession of the castle
of Alen9on, even from the earl of Normandy ; its inhabitants
being faithlessly disposed. Ii'ritated at this outrage, WiUiam
retaliated, and invested Danfrunt, which at that time be-
longed to the earl of Anjou. Greoffrey, immediately, excited
by the complaints of the besieged, hastily rushed forward
with a countless force. Hearing of his approach, William
sends Roger Montgomery* and William Fitz- Osborne to
reconnoitre. They, from the activity of youth, proceeding
many miles in a short time, espied Martel on horseback, and
apprized him of the dauntless boldness of their lord. Martel
immediately began to rage, to threaten mightily what he
would do; and said that he would come thither the next
day, and show to the world at large how much an Angevin
could excel a Norman in battle : at the same time, with un-
paralleled insolence, describing the colour of his horse, and
the devices on the arms he meant to use. The Norman
nobles, with equal vanity, relating the same of William,
return and stimulate their party to the conflict. I have
described these things minutely, for the purpose of display-
ing the arrogance of Martel. On this occasion, however, he
manifested none of his usual magnanimity, for he retreated
without coming to battle ; on hearing which, the inhabitants

*„" He was the son of Hugh de Montgomery and Jemima his wife,
daughter of Turolf of Pont-Andomare, by Wora, sister of Gunnora, great-
grandmother to the Conqueror. He led the centre of the army at the bat-
tle of Hastings, and was afterwards governor of Normandy. William the
Conqueror gave him the earldoms of Arundel and Shrewsbury. See more
of him in Sir H. Ellis's Introduction to Domesday, vol. i. p. 473. —
Hardt.

A.D. 1047.] ■y^^LLIAiI of arches. 263

of Alen9on surrendered, covenanting for personal safety;
and, afterwards, those of Danfrunt also, listed under the
more fortunate standard.

• In succeeding years William, earl of Arches, his illegiti-
mate uncle, who had always been faithless and fluctuating
from his first entrance on the duchy, rebelled against him ;
for, even during the siege of Danfrunt, he had unexpectedly
stolen away, and had communicated to many persons the
secrets of his soul. In consequence of this, William had
committed the keeping of liis castle to some men, whom he
had erroneously deemed faithful; but the earl, with his
usual skill in deception, had seduced even these people to his
party, by giving them many things, and promising them
more. Thus possessed of the fortress, he declared war
against his lord. William, with his customary alacrity, con-
trary to the advice of his friends, laid siege to Arches,
declaring publicly, that the miscreants would not dare at-
tempt any thing, if they came into his sight. Nor was his
assertion false: for more than three hundred soldiers, who
had gone out to plunder and forage, the instant they beheld
him, though almost unattended, fled back into their fortifi-
cations. Being inclined to settle this business without blood-
shed, he fortified a castle in front of Arches, and turned to
matters of hostile operation which required deeper attention,
because he was aware that the king of France, who had
already become adverse to him from some unknown cause,
was hastening to the succour of the besieged. He here gave
an instance of very laudable forbearance ; for though he cer-
tainly appeared to have the juster cause, yet he was reluctant
to engage with that person, to whom he was bound both by
oath and by obligation. He left some of his nobility, how-
ever, to repress the impetuosity of the king ; who, falling
into an ambush laid by their contrivance, had • most de-
servedly to lament Isembard, earl of Ponthieu, who was
killed in his sight, and Hugh Bardulf, who was taken
prisoner. Not long after, in consequence of his miscarriage,
retiring to his beloved France, the earl of Arches, wasted
with hunger, and worn to a skeleton, consented to surrender,
and was preserved, life and limb, an example of clemency,
and a proof of perseverance. During the interval of this
siege, the people of the fortress called Moulin, becoming dis*

264 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. in.

affected, at the instigation of one Walter, went over to the
king's side. An active party of soldiers was placed there,
under the command of Guy, brother of the earl of Poitou,
who diligently attended for some time to his military duties :
but on hearing the report of the victory at Arches, he stole
away into France, and contributed, by these means, consider-
ably to the glory of the duke.

King Henry, however, did not give indulgence to inac-
tivity ; but, muttering that his armies had been a laughing-
stock to William, immediately collected all his forces, and,
dividing them into two bodies, he over-ran the whole of
Normandy. He himself headed all the military power which
came from that part of Celtic Gaul which lies between the
rivers Garonne and Seine; and gave his brother Odo the
command over such as came from that part of Belgic Gaul
which is situated between the Rhine and the Seine. In like
manner William divided his army, with all the skill he pos-
sessed ; approaching by degrees the camp of the king, which
was pitched in the country of Briony, in such a manner, as
neither to come to close engagement, nor yet suffer the pro-
vince to be devastated in his presence. His generals were
Robert, earl of Aux ; Hugo de Gournay, Hugo de Montfort,
and William Crispin, who opposed Odo at a town called
Mortemar. Nor did he, relying on the numerous army
which lie commanded, at all delay coming to action; yet
making only slight resistance at the beginning, and after-
wards being unable to withstand the attack of the Normans,
he retreated, and was himself the first to fly. And here,
while Guy, earl of Ponthieu, was anxiously endeavouring to
revenge his brother, he was made captive, and felt, together
with many others surpassing in affluence and rank, the
weight of that hand which was so fatal to his family. When
William was informed of this success by messengers, he took
care that it should be proclaimed in the dead of night, near
the king's tent. On hearing which he retired, after some
days spent in Normandy, into France ; and, soon after, am-
bassadors passing between them, it was concluded, by treaty,
that the king's partizans should be set at liberty, and that
the earl should become legally possessed of all that had been,
or should hereafter be, taken from Martel.

It would be both tedions^"imdriis^e5S,'T0^TTlirte-4k^-per-

A.D. 1058.] FULK, EARL OF ANJOU. 265

petual^ contentions, or how William always came off con-
queror._ "WHat sBall we say besides, when, magnanimously
despising the custom of modern times, he never conde-
scended to attack him suddenly, or without acquainting him
of the day. Moreover, I mss by the circumstance of king
Henry's again violating his^ friendship ; his entering Nor-
maud)*, and piuceediug thiough the district of Hiesmes to
the river Dive, boasting that the sea was the sole obstacle
to his farther progress. But William now perceiving him-
self reduced to extremities by the king's perfidy, at length
brandished the arms of conscious valour, and worsted^ the
royal forces which were beyond the river — for paTt of th^em,
h"eSring^ Jus a3Tiva;t,' had passed over some little time be-
fore— ^with such entire loss, that henceforth France had no
such object of dread as that of irritating the ferocity of the
Normans. The death of Henry soon following, and, shortly
after, that of Martel, put an end to these broils. The d}dng
king delegated the care of his son Philip, at that time ex-
tremely young, to Baldwin earl of Flanders. He was a
man equally celebrated for fidelity and wisdom ; in the full
possession of bodily strength, and also ennobled by a mar-
riage with the king's sister. -Hia-daughier^ Matilda, j^ wo-
man who was a singular mirror of prudence in our time,
and the perfection of virtue, had been already married to
"^IHam. Hence it arose, that being mediator between his
ward, and his son-in-law, Baldwin restrained, by his whole-
some counsels, the feuds of the chiefs, and of the people.

But since the mention of Martel has so often presented
itself, I shall briefly trace the genealogy of the earls of
Anjou,* as far as the knowledge of my informant reaches.
Fulk the elder, presiding over that county for many years,
until he became advanced in years, performed many great
and prudent actions. There is only one thing for which I
have heard him branded: for, having induced Herbert earl
of Maine to come to Saintes, under the promise of yielding
him that city, he caused him, in the midst of their conversa-
tion, to be surrounded by his attendants, and compelled him
to submit to his own conditions: in other respects he was

* " For an account of the earls of Anjou consult the Gesta Consulmn
Andegavensium, auctore Monacho Benedictino Majoris Moiiasterii (apud
Acherium, torn. iii.V — Hardy.

266 WILLIAM OF MALixESBURY. [a iil.

a man of irreproachable integrity. In his latter days, he
ceded his principality to Geoffrey his son so often mentioned.
Geoffrey conducted himself with excessive barbarity to the
inhabitants, and with equal haughtiness even to the person
who had conferred this honour upon him : on which, being
ordered by his father to lay down the government and en-
signs of authority, he was arrogant enough to take up arms
against him. The blood of the old man, though grown cold
and languid, yet boiled with indignation ; and in the course
of a few days, by adopting wiser counsels, he so brought
down the proud spirit of his son, that after carrying his
saddle* on his back for some miles, he cast himself with
his burden at his father s feet. He, fired once more with
his ancient courage, rising up and spurning the prostrate
youth with his foot, exclaimed, " You are conquered at last !
you are conquered ! " repeating his words several times.
The suppliant had still spirit enough to make this admirable
reply, "I am conquered by you alone, because you are my
father ; by others I am utterly invincible." . With this
speech his irritated mind was mollified, and having con-
soled the mortification of his son by paternal affection, he
restored him to the principality, with admonitions to conduct
himself more wisely : telling him that the prosperity and
tranquillity of the people were creditable to him abroad, as
well as advantageous at home. In the same year the old
man, having discharged all secular concerns, made pro-
vision for his soul, by proceeding to Jerusalem ; where com-
pelling two servants by an oath to do whatever he com-
manded, he was by them publicly dragged naked, in the
sight of the Turks, to the holy sepulchre. One of them
had twisted a withe about his neck, the other with a rod
scourged his bare back, whilst he cried out, "Lord, receive
the wretched Fulk, thy perfidious, thy runagate ; regard my
repentant soul, O Lord Jesu Christ." At this time he ob-
tained not his request; but, peacefully returning home, he
died some few years after. The precipitate boldness of his

* To carry a saddle was a punishment of extreme ignominy for certain
crimes. See another instance in W. Gemeticensis, Du Chesne, p. 259,
and Du Cange, in voce " Sella ;" who very justly supposes the disgrace
to arise from the offender acknowledging himself a brute, and p itting him-
self entirely in the power of the person he had offended.

A.D.1058.J ' GEOFFREY MAETEL. 267

son Geoffrey has been amply displayed in my preceding his-
tory. He dying, bequeathed to Geoffrey, his sister's son, his
inheritance, but his worldly industry he could not leave him.
For being a youth of simple manners, and more accustomed
to pray in church, than to handle arms, he excited the con-
tempt of the people of that country, who knew not how to
I live in quiet. In consequence, the whole district becoming
I exposed to phmderers, Fulk, his brother, of his own ac-
» cord, seized on the duchy. Fulk was called Rhechin, from
1 his perpetual growling at the simplicity of his brother, whom
I he finally despoiled of his dignity, and kept in continual cus-
tody. He had a wife, who, being enticed by the desire of
enjoying a higher title, deserted him and married Philip king
of France ; who so desperately loved her, regardless of the
adage,

" Majesty and love
But ill accord, nor share the self-same seat,"

that he patiently suffered himself to be completely governed
by her, though he was at the same time desirous of ruling
over every other person. Lastly, for several years, merely
through regard for her, he suffered himself to be pointed at
like an idiot, and to be excommunicated from the whole
Christian world. The sons of Fulk were Geoffrey and
Fulk. Geoffrey obtaining the hereditary surname of Mar-
tel, ennobled it by his exertions : for he procured such peace
and tranquillity in those parts, as no one ever had seen, or
will see in future. On this account being killed by the
treachery of his people, he forfeited the credit of his con-
summate worth. Fulk succeeding to the government, is yet
living ;* of whom as I shall perhaps have occasion to speak
in the times of king Henry, I will now proceed to relate
what remains concerning William.

When, after much labour, he had quelled all civil dissen-
sion, he meditated an exploit of greater fame, and deter-
mined to recover those countries anciently attached to Nor-
mandy, though now disunited by long custom. I allude to

* From this passage it is clear that Foulques IV. was still the reigning
earl of Anjou, which therefore proves that Malmesbury had finished this
work before 1129, in which year Geoffrey le Bel, better known as Geoff/cy
Piantagenet, son of Foulques, became earl of Anjou." — Hardy.

268 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. iii.

the counties of Maine and Brittany ; of which Mans, long _
since burnt by Martel and deprived of its sovereign Hugo,
had lately experienced some little respite under Herbert the
son of Hugo ; who, with a view to greater security against
the earl of Anjou, had submitted, and sworn fidelity to Wil-
liam : besides, he had solicited his daughter in marriage,
and had been betrothed to her, though he died by disease
ere she was marriageable. He left William his heir, ad-
juring his subjects to admit no other; telling them, they
might have, if they chose, a mild and honourable lord ;
but, should they not, a most determined assertor of his
right. On his decease, the inhabitants of Maine rather in-
clined to Walter of Mantes, who had married Hugo's sister:
but at length, being brought to their senses by many heavy
losses, they acknowledged William. This was the time,
when Harold was unwillingly carried to Normandy by an
unpropitious gale ; whom, as is before mentioned, William
took with him in his expedition to Brittany, to make proof
of his prowess, and, at the same time, with the deeper de-
sign of showing to him his military equipment, that he
might perceive how far preferable was the Norman sword
to the English battle-axe. Alan, at that time, earl of Brit-
tany, flourishing in youth, and of transcendent strength, had
overcome his uncle Eudo, and performed many famous ac-
tions ; and so far from fearing William, had even voluntarily
irritated him. But he, laying claim to Brittany as his
hereditary territory, because Charles had given it with his
daughter, Gisla, to RoUo, shortly acted in such wise, that
Alan came suppliantly to him, and surrendered himself and
his possessions. And since I shall have but little to say oi
Brittany hereafter, I will here briefly insert an extraordinary
occurrence, which happened about that time in the city of
Nantes.

There were in that city two clerks, who though not yet of
legal age, had obtained the priesthood from the bishop of
that place, more by entreaty than desert : the pitiable death
of one of whom, at length taught the survivor, how near
they had before been to the brink of hell. As to the know-
ledge of literature, they were so instructed, that they wanted
little of perfection. From their earliest infancy, they had in
such wise vied in offices of friendship, ttat according to the

). 1065.] STORY OP TWO CLERKS. 269

expression of the comic writer,* " To serve each other they
would not only stir hand and foot, but even risk the loss of
life itself" Wherefore, one day, when they found their
minds more than usually free from outward cares, they spoke
their sentiments, in a secret place, to the following effect :
** That for many years they had given their attention some-
times to Hterature, and sometimes to secular cares ; nor had
they satisfied their minds, which had been occupied rather in
wrong than proper pursuits ; that in the meanwhile, the
bitter day was insensibly approaching, which would burst
the bond of union which was indissoluble while life remained :
wherefore they should provide in time, that the friendship
which united them while living should accompany him who
died first to the place of the dead." They agreed, therefore,
that whichever should first depart, should certainly appear to
the survivor, either waking or sleeping, if possible within
thirty days, to inform him, that, according to the Platonic tenet,
death does not extinguish the spirit, but sends it back again,
as it were from prison, to God its author. K this did not
take place, then they must yield to the sect of the Epicureans,
who hold, that the soul, liberated from the body, vanishes
into air, or mingles with the wind. Mutually plighting their
faith, they repeated this oath in their daily conversation.
A short time elapsed, and behold a violent death suddenly
deprived one of them of life. The other remained, and
seriously revolving the promise of his friend, and constantly
expecting his presence, during thirty days, found his hopes
disappointed. At the expiration of this time, when, despair-
ing of seeing him, he had occupied his leisure in other busi-
ness, the deceased, with that pale countenance which dying
persons assume, suddenly stood before him, when awake, and
busied on some matter. The dead first addressing the living
man, who was silent : " Do you know me ?" said he ; "I
do," replied the other ; " nor am I so much disturbed at
your unusual presence, as I wonder at your prolonged ab-
sence." But when he had accounted for the tardiness of his
appearance ; " At length," said he, " at length, having over-
come every impediment, I am present ; which presence, if
you please, my friend, will be advantageous to you, but to
me totally unprofitable ; for I am doomed, by a sentence
* Terent. Andr. iv. 1.

270 WILLIAM OF 3HALMESBURY. [b. iir.

which has been pronounced and approved, to eternal punish-
ment." When the living man promised to give all his pro—
perty to monasteries, and to the poor, and to spend days and
nights in fasting and prayer, for the release of the defunct ;
he replied, "What I have said is fixed ; for the judgments
of God, by which I am plunged in the sulphureous whirl-
pool of hell, are without repentance. There I shall be tossed
for my crimes, as long as the pole whirls round the stars, or
ocean beats the shores. The rigour of this irreversible sen-
tence remains for ever, devising lasting and innumerable
kinds of punishment : now, therefore, let the whole world
seek for availing remedies ! And that you may experience
some little of my numberless pains, behold," said he, stretch-
ing out his hand, dripping with a corrupted ulcer, " one of
the very smallest of them ; does it appear trifling to you ?"
When the other replied, that it did appear so ; he bent his
fingers into the palm, and threw three drops of the purulent
matter upon him ; two of wliich touching his temples, and
one his forehead, penetrated the skin and flesh, as if with a
burning cautery, and made holes of the size of a nut. When
his friend acknowledged the acuteness of the pain, by the
cry he uttered, " This," said the dead man, " will be a strong
proof to you, as long as you live, of my pains ; and, unless
you neglect it, a singular token for your salvation. Where-
fore, while you have the power; while indignation is sus-
pended over your head ; while God's lingering mercy waits
for you ; change your habit, change your disposition ; be-
come a monk at Rennes, in the monastery of St. Melanius."
When the living man was unwilling to agree to these words,
the other, sternly glancing at him, " If you doubt, wretched
man," said he, " turn and read these letters ;" and with these
words, he stretched out his hand, inscribed with black charac-
ters, in which, Satan, and all the company of infernals sent
their thanks, from hell, to the whole ecclesiastical body ; as
well for denying themselves no single pleasure, as for sending,
through neglect of their preaching, so many of their subject-
souls to hell, as no former age had ever witnessed. With
these words the speaker vanished ; and the hearer dis-
tributing his whole property to the church and to the poor,
went to the monastery ; admonishing all, who heard or saw
him, of his sudden conversion, ^nd extraordinary interview,

A.D. 1065.] NEGOTIATION OF WILLIAM I 271

SO that they exclaimed, " It is the right hand of the Almighty
that has done this."

I feel no regret at having inserted this for the benefit of
my readers : now I shall return to William. F.or since I
have briefly, but I hope not uselessly, gone over the transac-
tions in which he was engaged, when only earl of Normandy,
for thirty years, the order of time now requires a new series
of relation ; that I may, as far as my inquiries have dis-
covered, detect fallacy, and declare the truth relating to his
regal government.

When king Edward had yielded to fate, England, fluc-
tuating with doubtful favour, was uncertain to wliich ruler
she should commit herself : to Harold, William, or Edgar :
for the king had recommended him also to the nobility, as
nearest to the sovereignty in point of birth ; concealing his
better judgment from the tenderness of his disposition.
Wherefore, as I have said above, the English were distracted
in_their choice, although all of them openly wished well to
Haxold. He, indeed, once dignified with the diadem, thought
nothing of the covenant between himself and William : he
said, that he was absolved from his oath, because his daughter,
to whom he had been betrothed, had died before she was
marriageable. For this man, though possessing numberless
good qualities, is reported to have been careless about ab-
staining from perfidy, so that he could, by any device, elude
the reasonings of men on this matter. Moreover, supposing
that the threats of William would never be put into execution,
because he was occupied in wars with neighbouring princes,
he had, with his subjects, given full indulgence to security.
For indeed, had he not heard that the king of Norway was
approaching, he would neither have condescended to collect
troops, nor to array them. William, in the meantime, began
mildly to address him by messengers ; to expostulate on the
broken covenant ; to mingle threats with entreaties ; and to
warn him, that ere a year expired, he would claim his due
by the sword, and that he would come to that place, where
Harold supposed he had firmer footing than himself. Harold
again rejoined what I have related, concerning the nuptials
of his daughter, and added, that he had been precipitate on
the subject of the kingdom, in having confirmed to him by
oath another's right, without the universal consent and edict

272 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. hi.

of the general meeting, and of the people : again, that a rash
oath ought to be broken ; for if the oath, or vow, which a
maiden, under her father's roof, made concerning her person,
without the knowledge of her parents, was adjudged invalid ;
how much more invalid must that oath be, which he had
made concerning the whole kingdom, when under the king's
authority, compelled by the necessity of the time, and with-
out the knowledge of the nation.* Besides it was an unjust
request, to ask him to resign a government which he had
assumed by the universal kindness of his fellow subjects,
and which would neither be agreeable to the people, nor safe
for the military.

In this way, confounded either by true, or plausible, argu-
ments, the messengers returned without success. The earl,
however, made every necessary preparation for war during
the whole of that year ; retained his own soldiers with in-
creased pay, and invited those of others : ordered his ranks
and battalions in such wise, that the soldiers should be tall
and stout; that the commanders and standard-bearers, in
addition to their military science, should be looked up to for
their wisdom and age ; insomuch, that each of them, whether
seen in the field or elsewhere, might be taken for a prince,
rather than a leader. The bishops and abbats of those days
vied so much in religion, and the nobility in princely libe-
rality, that it is wonderful, f within a period of less than
sixty J years, how either order should have become so un-
fruitful in goodness, as to take up a confederate war against
justice: the former, through desire of ecclesiastical promo-
tion, embracing wrong in preference to right and equity;
and the latter, casting off shame, and seeking every occasion

* " These words seem to imply that the Great Council of the kingdom
had never agreed to any settlement of the crown on the duke ; and with-
out such sanction no oath made by Harold in favour of William would
have been binding." — Hardy.

+ Some copies omit from " it is wonderful," to " But," and substitute

as follows : — '* that in the course of a very few years, many, if not

all, things were seen changed in either order. The former became, in some
respects, more dull but more liberal : the latter, more prudent in every
thing, but more penurious ; yet both, in defending their coxmtry, valiant in
battle, provident in coimsel ; prepared to advance their own fortune, and
to depress that of their enemies."

t This passage enables us to ascertain nearly the year hi which WHlian
of Malmesbury's work was written.

A.D.1066.3 PREPAEATIONS FOR WAR. 273

for begging money as for their daily pay. But at that time
the prudence of William, seconded by the providence of God,
already anticipated the invasion of England; and that no
rashness might stain his just cause, he sent to the pope, for-
merly Anselm, bishop of Lucca, who had assumed the name
of Alexander, alleging the justice of the war which he medi-
tated with all the eloquence he was master of. Harold
omitted to do this, either because he was proud by nature,
or else distrusted his cause ; or because he feared that his
messengers would be obstructed by William and his parti-
sans, who beset every port. The pope, duly examining the
pretensions of both parties, delivered a standard to William,
as an auspicious presage of the kingdom: on receiving
which, he summoned an assembly of his nobles, at Lillebourne,
for the purpose of ascertaining their sentiments on this
attempt. And when he had confirmed, by splendid pro-
mises, all who approved his design, he appointed them to
prepare shipping, in proportion to the extent of their pos-
sessions. Thus they departed at that time; and, in the
month of August, re-assembled in a body at St. Vallery,*
for so that port is called by its new name. Collecting,
therefore, ships from every quarter, they awaited the pro-
pitious gale which was to carry them to their destination.
When this delayed blowing for several days, the common
soldiers, as is generally the case, began to mutter in their
tents, " that the man must be mad, who wished to subjugate
a foreign country ; that God opposed him, who withheld the
wind; that his father purposed a similar attempt, and was
in like manner frustrated ; that it was the fate of that family
to aspire to things beyond their reach, and find God for their
adversary." In consequence of these things, which were
enough to enervate the force of the brave, being publicly
noised abroad, the duke held a council with his chiefs, and
ordered the body of St. Vallery to be brought forth, and to
be exposed to the open air, for the purpose of imploring a

* " There are two places called St. Valeri ; one in Picardy, situated at
the mouth of the Somme, and formerly called Leugonaus ; the other is a
large sea-port town, situated in Normandy, in the diocese of Rouen, and
was formerly called S. Valeri les Plains, but now S. Valeri en Caux. It
seems to be the former place to which Malmesbury here refers, * In Pon-
tivo apud S. Walericum in ancoris congrue stare fecit,' writes William ot
Jumieges." — Haedy.

T

274 WILLIAM OF MAT.MESBTJRY. [b. m.

wind. No delay now interposed, but the wished-for gale
filled their sails. A joyful clamour then arising, summoned
every one to the ships. The earl himself first launching
from the continent into the deep, aWaited the rest, at anchor,
nearly in mid-channel. All then assembled round the crim-
son sail of the admiral's ship ; and, having first dined, they
arrived, after a favourable passage, at Hastings. As he dis-
embarked he slipped down, but turned the accident to his
advantage; a soldier who stood near calling out to him,
" you hold England, * my lord, its future king." He then
restrained his whole army from plundering ; warning them,
thai they should now abstain from what must hereafter be
their ownjf and for fifteen successive days he remained so
perfectly quiet, that he seemed to think of nothing less than
of war.

In the meantime Harold returned from the battle with
the Norwegians ; happy, in his own estimation, at having
conquered ; but not so in mine, as he had secured the victory
by parricide. When the news of the Norman's arrival
reached him, reeking as he was from battle, he proceeded to
Hastings, though accompanied by very few forces. No
doubt the fates urged him on, as he neither summoned his

• This was said in allusion to the feudal investiture, or formal act of
taking possession of an estate by the delivery of certain symbols. " This
story, however, is rendered a little suspicious by these words being in exact
conformity with those of Caesar, when he stumbled and fell at his landing
in Africa, Teneo te^ Africa. The silence of William of Poitou, who was
the duke's chaplain, and with him at his landing, makes the truth of it still
more doubtful." — Hardy.

t " Whatever may have been the conqueror's orders, to restrain his
army from plundering, it is conclusive, from the Domesday Survey, that
they were of no avail. The whole of the country, in the neighbourhood of
Hastings, appears to have been laid waste. Sir Henry Ellis, in the last
edition of his General Introduction to Domesday, observes, that the de-
struction occasioned by the conqueror's army on its first arrival, is apparent
more particularly under Hollington, Bexhill, &c. The value of each
manor is given as it stood in the reign of the conqueror ; afterwards it is
said, ' vastatimi fuit-,' and then follows the value at the time of the survey.
The situation of those manors evidently shows their devastated state to
have been owing to the army marching over it ; and this clearly evinces
another circumstance relating to the invasion, which is, that William did
not land his army at one particular spot, at Bulwerhithe, or Hastings, as is
Bupposed, — but at all the several proper places for landing along the coast,
itovtx Bexhill to Winchelsea." — Haudy.

A.D.1066.J HAROLDS SPIES TAKEN. 275

troops, nor, had he been willing to do so, would he have
found many ready to obey his call; so hostile were all to
him, as I have before observed, from his having appropriated
the northern spoils entirely to himself. He sent out some
persons, however, to reconnoitre the number and strength of
the enemy: these, being taken within the camp, William
ordered to be led amongst the tents, and, after feasting
them plentifully, to be sent back uninjured to their lord.
On their return, Harold inquired what news they brought :
when, after relating at full, the noble confidence of the
general, they gravely added, that almost all his army had the
appearance of priests, as they had the whole face, with both
lips, shaven. For the English leave the upper lip unshorn,
suffering the hair continually to increase; which Julius
CiBsar, in his treatise on the Gallic War,* affirms to have
been a national custom with the ancient inhabitants of
Britain. The king smiled at the simplicity of the relators,
observing, with a pleasant laugh, that they were not priests,
but soldiers, strong in arms, and invincible in spirit. His
brother, Girth, a youth, on the verge of manhood, and of
knowledge and valour surpassing his years, caught up his
words : " Since," said he, " you extol so much the valour of
the Norman, I think it ill-advised for you, who are his
inferior in strength and desert, to contend with him. Nor
can you deny being bound to him, by oath, either willingly,
or by compulsion. W^herefore you will act wisely, if, your-
self withdra^ving from this pressing emergency, you allow us
to try the issue of a battle. We, who are free from all obli-
gation, shall justly draw the sword in defence of our country.
It is to be apprehended, if you engage, that you vdll be
either subjected to flight or to death : whereas, if we only
fight, your cause will be safe at all events : for you will be
able both to rally the fugitives, and to avenge the dead."

His unbridled rashness yielded no placid ear to the words
of his adviser, thinking it base, and a reproach to his past
life, to turn his back on danger of any kind; and, with
similar impudence, or to speak more favourably, imprudence,
he drove away a monk, the messenger of William, not deign-
ing him even a complacent look ; imprecating only, that God
would decide between him and the earl. He was the bearer
• Lib.v. c. 14.
- Q

276 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUET. [b. in.

of three propositions : either that Harold should relinquish
the kingdom, according to his agreement, or hold it ot
"William ; or decide the matter by single combat in the sight
of either army. For William* claimed the kingdom, on the
ground that king Edward, by the advice of Stigand, the
archbishop, and of the earls Godwin and Siward, had
granted it to him, and had sent the son and nephew of God-
win to Normandy, as sureties of the grant. If Harold
should deny this, he would abide by the judgment of the
pope, or by battle : on all which propositions, the messenger
being frustrated by the single answer I have related, re-
turned, and communicated to his party fresh spirit for the
conflict.

The courageous leaders mutually prepared for battle, each
according to his national custom. The English, as we have
heard, passed the night without sleep, in drinking and sing-
ing, and, in the morning, proceeded without delay towards
the enemy; all were on foot, armed with battle-axes, and
covering themselves in front by the junction of their shields,
they formed ftn impenetrable body, which would have se-
cured their safety that day, had not the Normans, by a
feigned flight, induced them to open their ranks, which till
that time, according to their custom, were closely compacted.
The king himself on foot, stood, with his brother, near the
standard ; in order that, while all shared equal danger, none
might think of retreating. This standard William sent,
after the victory, to the pope ; it was sumptuously embroi-
dered, with gold and precious stones, in the form of a man
fighting.

On the other side, the Normans passed the whole night
in confessing their sins, and received the sacrament in the
morning: their infantry, with bows and arrows, formed the
vanguard, while their cavalry, divided into wings, were
thrown back. The earl, with serene countenance, declaring
aloud, that jrod would favour his, as being the righteous
side, called for his arms; and presently, when, through the

* This is from W. Pictaviensis, who puts it in the mouth of the con-
queror, but it is evidently false; for Godwin died a.d. 1053, Siward a.d.
1055, and iii 1054 we find Edward the Confessor sending for his nephew
from Hungary, to make him his successor in the kingdom, who, accord-
ingly, arrives in a.d. 1057, and dies almost immediately after. He coaW
»ot, therefore, have made the settlement as here asserted.

A.D.1066.] BATTLE OF HASTINGS. 277

hurry of his attendants, he had put on his hauberk the hind
part before,* he corrected the mistake with a laugh ; saying,
" My dukedom shall be turned into a kingdom." Then be-
ginning the song of Roland, f that the warlike example of
that man might stimulate the soldiers, and calling on God
for assistance, the battle commenced on both sides. They
fought with ardour, neither giving ground, for great part
of the day. Finding this, William gave a signal to his party,
that, by a feigned flight, they should retreat. Through this
device, the close body of the English, opening for the pur-
pose of cutting down the straggling enemy, brought upon
itself swift destruction; for the Normans, facing about, at-
tacked them thus disordered, and compelled them to fly. In
this manner, deceived by a stratagem, they met an honour-
able death in avenging their country ; nor indeed were they
at all wanting to their own revenge, as, by frequently making
a stand, they slaughtered their pursuers in heaps : for, get-
ting possession of an eminence, they drove down the Nor-
mans, when roused with indignation and anxiously striving
to gain the higher ground, into the valley beneath, where,
easily hurling their javelins and rolling down stones on them
as they stood below, they destroyed them to a man. Be-
sides, by a short passage, with which they were acquainted,
avoiding a deep ditch, they trod under foot such a multitude
of their enemies in that place, that they made the hollow
level with the plain, by the heaps of carcasses. This vicissi-
tude of first one party conquering, and then the other, pre-
vailed as long as the life of Harold continued ; but when he
fell, from having his brain pierced with an arrow, the flight
of the English ceased not until night. The valour of both
leaders was here eminently conspicuous.

Harold, not merely content with the duty of a general in
exhorting others, diligently entered into every soldier-like
office; often would he strike the enemy when coming to
close quarters, so that none could approa/^h him with im-
punity; for immediately the same blow levelled both horse
and rider. Wherefore, as I have related, receiving the fatal

• As the armour of that time was of mail, this might easily happen.

+ What this was is not knoAvn ; but it is supposed to have been a ballad
or romance, commemorating the heroic achievements of the pretended
nephew of Charlemagne.

278 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT. L». m,

arrow from a distance, he yielded to death. One of the
soldiers with a sword gashed his thigh, as he lay prostrate ;
for which shameful and cowardly action, he was branded
with ignominy by William, and dismissed the service.

WiUiam too was equally ready to encourage by his voice
and by his presence; to be the first to rush forwardj to
attack the thickest of the foe. Thus everywhere raging,
everywhere furious, he lost three choice horses, which were
that day pierced under him. The dauntless spirit and
vigour of the intrepid general, however, still persisted,
though often called back by the kind remonstrance of his
body-guard; he still persisted, I say, till approaching night
crowned him with complete victory. And no doubt, the
hand of God so protected him, that the enemy should draw
no blood from his person, though they aimed so many jave-
lins at him.

This was a fatal day to England, a melancholy havoc of-
our dear country, through its change of masters* For it
had long since adopted the manners of the Angles, which
had been very various according to the times : for in the
first years of their arrival, they were barbarians in their
look and manners, warlike in their usages, heathens in their
rites ; but, after embracing the faith of Christ, by degrees,
and in process of time, from the peace they enjoyed, regard-
ing arms only in a secondary light, they gave their whole
attention to religion. I say nothing of the poor, the mean-
ness of whose fortune often restrains them from overstepping
the bounds of justice; I omit men of ecclesiastical rank,
whom sometimes respect to their profession, and sometimes
the fear of shame, suffer not to deviate from the truth: I
speak of princes, who from the greatness of their power
might have full liberty to indulge in pleasure; some of
whom, in their own country, and others at Rome, changing
their habit, obtained a heavenly kingdom, and a saintly
intercourse. Many during their whole lives in outward
appearance only embraced the present world, in order that
they might exhaust their treasures on the poor, or divide
them amongst monasteries. What shall I say of the multi-
tudes of bishops, hermits, and abbats ? Does not the whole
island blaze with such numerous relics of its natives, that
you can scarcely pass a village of any consequence but you

..D. 1066.J CUSTOMS OF THE ENGLISH. 279

Ijoar the name of some new saint, "besides the numl3ers of
whom all notices have perished through the want of records r
Nevertheless, in process of time, the desire after literature
and religion had decayed, for several years before the arrival
of the Normans. The clergy, contented with a very slight
degree of learning, could scarcely stammer out the words of
the sacraments ; and a person who understood grammar, was
an object of wonder and astonislunent. The monks mocked
the rule of their order by fine vestments, and the use of
every kind of food. The nobility, given up to luxury and
wantonness, went not to church in the morning after the
manner of Christians, but merely, in a careless manner,
heard matins and masses from a hurrying priest in their
chambers, amid the blandishments of their wives. The
commonalty, left unprotected, became a prey to the most
powerful, who amassed fortunes, by either seizing on their
property, or by selling their persons into foreign countries;
although it be an innate quality of this people, to be more
inclined to revelling, than to the accumulation of wealth.
There was one custom, repugnant to nature, which they
adopted ; namely, to sell their female servants, when preg-
nant by them and after they had satisfied their lust, either
to public prostitution, or foreign slavery. Drinking in par-
ties was a universal practice, in which occupation they
passed entire nights as well as days. They consumed their
whole substance in mean and despicable houses; unlike the
Normans and French, who, in noble and splendid mansions,
lived with frugality. The vices attendant on drunkenness,
which enervate the human mind, followed; hence it arose
that engaging William, more with rashness, and precipitate ,
furj4 than military skill, they doomed themselves, and their
country, to slavery, by one, and that an easy, victory. 7 For
nothing is less eftective than rashness^and what begin^l'rith
violence, quickly ceases, or is repelleo?'/ In fine, the English
at that time, wore short garments reaching to the mid-knee ;
Ihey had their hair cropped ; their beards shaven ; their arms
laden with golden bracelets; their skin adorned with punc-
tured designs. They were accustomed to eat till they be-
came surfeited, and to drink till they were sick. These
latter qualities they imparted to their conquerors ; as to the
rest, they adopted their manners. I would not, however,

^^-

280 WILLIAM OP MALMESBTTRT. [b. in.

have these bad propensities universally ascribed to the Eng-
lish. I know that many of the clergy, at that day, trod the
path of sanctity, by a blameless life; I know that many of
the laity, of all ranks and conditions, in this nation, were
well-pleasing to God. Be injustice far from this account;
, the accusation does not involve the whole indiscriminately.
^ "But, as in peace, the mercy of God often cherishes the
y bad and the good together; so, equally, does his severity,
^>4. sometimes, include them both in captivity."
'^ -^ Moreover, the Normans, that I may speak of them also,

were at that time, and are even now, proudly apparelled,
delicate in their fppd^ Jbut jiot^^cessive^ TIi.ex,are a race
c^ a i^^ilS^JpJzar, and can hardly live without it ; fierce in rush- "
^ »J ing against the enemy ; and where strength fails of success,
• 1^ ready to use stratagem, or to corrupt by bribery. As I have
^ related, they live in large edifices with economy ; envy their
equals ; wish to excel their superiors ; and plunder their
subjects, though they defend them from others ; they are
faithful to their lords, though a slight offence renders them
perfidious. They weigh treachery by its chance of success,
and change their sentiments with money. They are, however,
the kindest of nations, and they esteem strangers worthy of
equal honour with themselves. They also intermarry with
their vassals. They revived, by their arrival, the observ-
ances of religion, which were everywhere grown lifeless in
England. You might see churches rise in every village, and
monasteries in the towns and cities, built after a style un-
known before ; you might behold the country flourishing
with renovated rites ; so that each wealthy man accounted
that day lost to him, which he had neglected to signalize by
some magnificent action. But having enlarged sufficiently
on these points, let us pursue the transactions of William.

When his victory was complete, he caused his dead to be
interred with great pomp ; granting the enemy the liberty of
doing the like, if they thought proper. He sent the body of
Harold* to his mother, who begged it, unransomed ; though

* There seems to have been a fabulous story current during the twelfth
century, that Harold escaped from the battle of Hastings. Giraldus Cam-
bremsis asserts, that it was believed Harold had fled from the battle-field,
pierced with many wounds, and with the loss of his left eye ; and that he j
ended his days piously and virtuously, as an anchorite, at Chester. Both |

A.D. 1066.] "William's CORONATION. 281

she proffered large sums by her messengers. She buried it,
when thus obtained, at Waltham ; a church which he had
built at his own expense, in honour of the Holy Cross, and
had endowed for canons. William then, by degrees proceed-
ing, as became a conqueror, with his army, not after an hos-
tile, but a royal manner, journeyed towards London, the
principal city of the kingdom ; and shortly after, all the
citizens came out to meet him with gratulations. Crowds
poured out of every gate to greet him, instigated by the
nobility, and principally by Stigand, archbishop of Canter-
bury, and Aldred, of York. For, shortly before, Edwin and
Morcar, two brothers of great expectation, hearing, at Lon-
don, the news of Harold's death, solicited the citizens to
exalt one of them to the throne : failing, however, in the
attempt, they had departed for Northumberland, conjecturing,
from their own feelings, that William Aould never come
thither. The other chiefs would have chosen Edgar, had the
bishops supported them ; but, danger and domestic broils
closely impending, neither did this take effect. ,Thus the
English, who, had they united in one opinion, might have
repaired the ruin of their country, introduced a stranger,
while. they were unwilling to choose a native, to govern them. |
Being now decidedly hailed king, he was crowned on Christ-" I
mas-day by archbishop Aldred ; for he was careful not to \
accept this office from Stigand, as he was not canonically an '
archbishop.

Of the various wars which he carried on, this is a sum-^^^„^^^
mary. Favoured by God's assistance, he easily reduced the j?^
cii^jof Exeter,* when it had rebelled ; for part o£ the wall \\

Knighton and Brompton quote this story. W. Pictaviensis says, that Wil- ^ -^
liam refused the body to his mother, who offered its weight in gold for it, .
ordering it to be buried on the sea-coast. In the Harleian MS. 3776, be- 'AJ ^
fore referred to. Girth, Harold's brother, is said to have escaped alive :
he is represented, in his interview with Henry II. to have spoken myste-
riously respecting Harold, and to have declared that the body of that prince
was not at Waltham. Sir H. Ellis, quoting this MS., justly observes, that
the whole was, probably, the fabrication of one of the secular canons, who
were ejected at the re- foundation of Waltham Abbey in 11 77." — Hardy.

* Four manuscripts read Exoniam, and one, namely, that which was
used by Savile, read Oxoniam. But Matthew Paris also seems to have
read Exoniam, for such is the text of the two best MSS. of that author.
(Reg. 14, c. vii. and Cott, Nero, d. v.) Upon a passage in the Domse-
Uay Survey, describing Oxford as containing 478 houses, wMch were so

282 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. Lb. iii.

fell down accidentally, and made an opening for him. In-
deed he had attacked it with the more ferocity, asserting
that those irreverent men would be deserted by God's favour,
because one of them, standing upon the wall, had bared his
posteriors, and had broken wind, in contempt of the Nor-
mans. He almost annihilated the city of York, that sole re-
maining shelter for rebellion, and destroyed its citizens with
sword and famine. For there Malcolm, king of the Scots,
with his party ; there Edgar, and Morcar, and Waltheof,
with the English and Danes, often brooded over the nest of
tyranny ; there they frequently killed his generals ; whose
deaths, were I severally to commemorate, perhaps I should
not be superfluous, though I might risk the peril of creating
disgust ; while I should be not easily pardoned as an histo-
rian, if I were led astray by the falsities of my authorities.

Malcolm willingly received all the English fugitives, af-
fording to each every protection in his power, but more es-
pecially to Edgar, whose sister he had married, out of regard
to her noble descent. On his behalf he burnt and plundered
the adjacent provinces of England ; not that he supposed, by
so doing, he could be of any service to him, with respect to
the kingdom ; but merely to distress the mind of William,
who was incensed at Ids territories being subject to Scottish
incursions. In consequence, William, collecting a body of
foot and horse, repaired to the northern parts of the island,
and first of all received into subjection the metropolitan city,
which English, Danes, and Scots obstinately defended ; its
citizens being wasted with continued want. He destroyed
also in a great and severe battle, a considerable number of
the enemy, who had come to the succour of the besieged ;
though the victory was not bloodless on his side, as he lost

desolated that they could not pay gold, Sir H. Ellis remarks : " The extra-
ordinary number of houses specified as desolated at Oxford, requires ex-
planation. If the passage is correct, Matthew Paris probably gives us the
cause of it, under the year 1067, when William the Conqueror subdued
Oxford in his way to York : — ' Eodem tempore rex Willielmus urbem Ox-
oniam sibi rebellem obsidione vallavit. Super cujus murum quidam, stans,
nudato inguine, sonitu partis inferioris auras turbavit, in contemptum vide-
licet Normannorum ; unde Willielmus in iram conversus, civitatem levi
negotio subjugavit.' (Matt. P. ed. Watts^ sub ann. 1067, p. 4.) The
siege of Exeter in 1067 is also mentioned by Simeon of Durham, col. 197 ;
Hoveden, col. 258 ; Ralph de Diceto, col. 482 ; Flor. of Worces. fol.
Franc. 1601, p. 635 j and by Ordericus Vitalis, p. 510."— Hardy.

285

AD. 1068.] SURRENDER OF MALCOLM.

'^le de-
many of his people. He then ordered both the town^em ;
fields of the whole district to be laid waste ; the fruits ave
grain to be destroyed by fire or by water, more especially oe
the coast, as well on account of his recent displeasure, as be-
cause a rumour had gone abroad, that Canute, king of Den-
mark, the son of Sweyn, was approaching with his forces.
The reason of such a command, was, that the plundering
pirate should find no booty on the coast to take with him, if
he designed to depart again directly ; or should be compelled
to provide against want, if he thought proper to stay. Thus
the resources of a province,* once flourishing, and the nurse
of tyrants, were cut off by fire, slaughter, and devastation ;
the ground, for more than sixty miles, totally uncultivated
and unproductive, remains bare to the present day. Should
any stranger now see it, he laments over the once-magnifi-
cent cities ; the towers threatening heaven itself with their
loftiness ; the fields abundant in pasturage, and watered with
rivers : and, if any ancient inhabitant remains, he knows it
no longer.

Malcolm surrendered himself, without coming to an en-
gagement, and for the whole of WilKam's time passed his
life under treaties, uncertain, and frequently broken. But
when in the reign of William, the son of William, he was
attacked in a similar manner, he diverted the king from pur-
suing him by a false oath. He was slain soon after, together
with his son, by Robert Mowbray, earl of Northumberland,
vhile, regardless of his faith, he was devastating the pro-
nce with more than usual insolence. For many years, he
buried at Tynemouth : lately he was conveyed by Alex-
ins son, to Dunfermlin, in Scotland,
esday Book beaxs ample testimony to this statement ; and that
\y follows, viz. that the resources of this once-flourishing pro-
^t off by fire, slaughter, and devastation ; and the ground, for
V miles, totally uncultivated and unproductive, remains bare
"y. The land, which had belonged to Edwin and Mor-'f»r
">8t everywhere in the Survey is stated to be wasta; and
"^er the enumeration of no fewer than sixty-two places,
ich amounted to one hundred and seventy carucates,
A villae jacent ad Prestune, et tres ecclesise. Ex his 16

i^*fe ar, sed quot sint habitantes ignoratxu-. Reliqua sunt

>ver, wasta is added to numerous places belonging to the
of York, St. John of Beverley, the bishop of Durham, and to
.ids which had belonged to Waltheof, Gospatric, Siward, and Mer-
-vsme I — Ha&dt.

282 WILLIAM OF MAL3^.ESBURY. IM*

fell dogar, having submitted to the king with Stigand and Aldred
deed archbishops, violated his oath the following year, by going
thf^er to the Scot : but after living there some years, and acquiring
1-no present advantage, no future prospects, but merely his daily
sustenance, being willing to try the liberality of the Norman,
who was at that time beyond the sea, he sailed over to him.
They say this was extremely agreeable to the king, that Eng-
— -4and should be thus rid of a fomenter of dissension. Indeed
it was his constant practice, under colour of high honour, -to"
carry over to Normandy all the English he suspected, lest
/ any disorders should arise in the kingdom during his absence,
Edgar, therefore, was well received, and presented with a
considerable largess : and remaining at court for many years,
silently sunk into contempt through his indolence, or more
mildly speaking, his simplicity. For how great must his
simplicity be, who would yield up to the king, for a single
horse, the pound of silver, which he received as his daily sti-
pend ? In succeeding times he went to Jerusalem with
Robert, the son of Grodwin,* a most valiant knight. This
was the time when the Turks besieged king Baldwin, at
Rama ; who, unable to endure the difficulties of a siege, rushed
through the midst of the enemy, by the assistance of Robert
alone, who preceded him, and hewed down the Turks, on
either hand, with his drawn sword ; but, while excited to
greater ferocity by his success, he was pressing on with too
much eagerness, his sword dropped from his hand, and when
stooping down to recover it, he was surrounded by a multi-
tude, and cast into chains. Taken thence to Babylon, as they
report, when he refused to deny Christ, he was placed as a
mark in the middle of the market-place, and being transfixed
with darts, died a martyr. Edgar, having lost his com-
panion, returned, and received many gifts from the Greek

* Fordun has a story of Edgar's being cleared from an accusation of
treason against W. Rufus, by one Godwin, in a duel ; whose son, Robert,
la afterwards described as one of Edgar's adherents in Scotland. L. v.
c. 27 — 34. " The Saxon Chronicle states, that in the year 1106, he waa
one of the prisoners taken at the battle of Tinchebrai, in Normandy. Ed-
gar is stated, by Dr. Sayers, in his Disquisitions, 8vo, 1808, p. 29t>, upon
the authority of the Spelman MSS., to have again visited Scotland at a
very advanced period of life, and died in that kingdom in the year 1120.
If this date can be relied upon, the passage above noted would prove that
Malmesbury had written this portion of lii« history before the close of that
year." — Hardy.

4.0.1103.] OF EDTITN AND MORCAR. 285

and German emperors ; who, from respect to his noble de-
scent, would also have endeavoured to retain him with them ;
but he gave up every thing, through regard to his native
soil. " For, truly, the love of their country deceives some
men to such a degree, that nothing seems pleasant to them,
unless they can breathe their native air." Edgar, therefore,
deluded by this silly desire, returned to England ; where, as
I have before said, after various revolutions of fortune, he
now grows old in the country in privacy and quiet.

Edwin and Morcar were brothers ; the sons of Elfgar, the
son of Leofric. They had received charge of the county of
Northumberland, and jointly preserved it in tranquillity.
For, as I have before observed, a few days previous to the
death of St. Edward the king, the inhabitants of the north
had risen in rebellion and expelled Tosty, their governor ;
and, with Harold's approbation, had requested, and received,
one of these brothers, as their lord. These circumstances,
as we have heard from persons acquainted with the affair,
took place against the inclination of the king, who was
attached to Tosty ; but being languid through disease, and
worn down with age, he become so universally disregarded,
that he could not assist his favourite. In consequence, hia
bodily ailments increasing from' the anxiety of his mind, he
died shortly after. Harold persisted in his resolution of
banishing his brother : wherefore, first tarnishing the
triumphs of his family by piratical excursions, he was, as I
have above written, afterwards killed with the king of
Norway. His body being known by a wart between the
shoulders, obtained burial at York. Edwin and Morcar, by
Harold's command, then conveyed the spoils of war to
London, for he himself was proceeding rapidly to the battle
of Hastings ; where, falsely presaging, he looked upon the
victory as already gained. But, when he was there killed,
the brothers, flying to the territories they possessed, disturbed
the peace of William for several years ; infesting the woods
with secret robberies, and never coming to close or open
engagement. Often were they taken captive, and as often
surrendered themselves, but were again dismissed with
impunity, from pity to their youthful elegance, or respect to
their nobility. At last, murdered, neither by the force nor
craft of their enemies, but by the treachery of their

586 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b- "t

partisans, tlieir fate drew tears from the king, who would
even long since have granted them matches with his
relations, and the honour of his friendship, would they have
acceded to terms of peace.

Waltheof, an earl of high descent, had become extremely-
intimate with the new king, who had forgotten his former
offences, and attributed them rather to courage, than to
disloyalty. For Waltheof, singly, had killed many of the
Normans in the battle of York ; cutting off their heads, one
by one, as they entered the gate. He was muscular in the
arms, brawny in the chest, tall and robust in his whole
person ; the son of Siward, a most celebrated earl, whom, by
a Danish term, they called " Digera," which implies Strong.
But after the fall of his party, he voluntarily surrendered
himself, and was honoured by a marriage with Judith, the
king's neice, as well as with his personal friendship. Unable
however to restrain his evil inclinations, he could not
preserve his fidelity. For all his countrymen, who had
thought proper to resist, being either slain, or subdued, he
became a party even in the perfidy of Ralph de Waher ; but
the conspiracy being detected,* he was taken ; kept in chains
for some time, and at last, being beheaded, was buried at
Croyland : though some assert, that he joined the league of
treachery, more through circumvention than inclination.
This is the excuse the English make for him, and those, of
the greater credit, for the Normans affirm the contrary, to
whose decision the Divinity itself appears to assent, showing
many and very great miracles at his tomb : for they declare,
that during his captivity, he wiped away his transgressions
by his daily penitence.

On this account perhaps the conduct of the king may
reasonably be excused, if he was at any time rather severe
against the English ; for he scarcely found any one of them
faithful. This circumstance so exasperated his ferocious
mind, that he deprived the more powerful, first of their
wealth, next of their estates, , and finally, some of them of
their lives. Moreover, he followed the device of Caesar, who

* ** Earl WaHheof, or Wallef, as he is always styled in Domesday Book,
was, according to the Saxon Chronicle, beheaded at Winchester on the
31st May, 1076. The Chronicle of Mailros and Florence of Worcester,
however, assign this event to the preceding year."— Hardy.

I

A.D. 1074,] RALPH DE WALEK. 287

drove out the Germans, concealed in the vast forest of
Ardennes, whence they harassed his army with perpetual
irruptions, not by means of his own countrymen, but by the
confederate Gauls ; that, while strangers destroyed each
other, he might gain a bloodless victory. Thus, I say,
William acted towards the English. For, allowing the
Normans to be unemployed, he opposed an English army,
and an English commander, to those, who, after the first
unsuccessful battle, had fled to Denmark and Ireland, and
had returned at the end of three years with considerable
force : forseeing that whichever side might conquer, it must
be a great advantage to himself. Nor did this device fail him ;
for both parties of the English, after some conflicts between
themselves, without any exertion on his part, left a victory
for the king ; the invaders being driven to Ireland, and the
royalists purchasing the empty title of conquest, at their own
special loss, and that of their general. His name was
Ednoth,* equally celebrated, before the arrival of the
Normans, both at home and abroad. He was the father of
Harding, who yet survives : a man more accustomed to
kindle strife by his malignant tongue, than to brandish arms
in the field of battle. Thus having overturned the power of
the laity, he made an ordinance, that no monk, or clergyman,
of that nation, should be suffered to aspire to any dignity
whatever ; excessively differing from the gentleness of
Canute the former king, who restored their honours,
unimpaired, to the conquered : whence it came to pass, that
at his decease, the natives easily expelled the foreigners, and
reclaimed their original right. But William, from certain
causes, canonically deposed some persons, and in the place of
such as might die, appointed diligent men of any nation,
except English. Unless I am deceived, their inveterate
frowardness towards the king, required such a measure ;
since, as I have said before, the Normans are by nature
kindly disposed to strangers who live amongst them.

Ralph, whom I mentioned before, was, by the king's gift,
earl of Norfolk and Suffolk ; a Breton on his father's side ;
of a disposition foreign to every thing good. This man. in

* "Harold's master of the horse. He was killed in 1068, in opposing
the sons of Harold, when they came upon their expedition from Ireland,'
— Habdt.

288 WILLIAM OF MALMESEUEY. [b. in.

consequence of being betrothed to the king's relation, the
daughter of William Fitz-Osberne, conceived a most unjust
design, and meditated attack on the sovereignty. Wherefore,
on the very day of his nuptials, whilst splendidly banquet-
ing, for the luxury of the English had now been adopted by
the Normans, and when the guests had become intoxicated
and heated with wine, he disclosed his intention in a copious
harangue. As their reason was entirely clouded by drunken-
ness, they loudly applauded the orator. Here Roger earl of
Hereford, brother to the wife of Ralph, and here Waltheof,
together with many others, conspired the death of the king.
Next day, however, when the fumes of the wine had evapo-
rated, and cooler thoughts influenced the minds of some of
the party, the larger portion, repenting of their conduct,
retired from the meeting. Among these is said to have been
Waltheof, who, at the recommendation of archbishop Lan-
franc, sailing to Normandy, related the matter to the king ;
concealing merely his own share of the business. The earls,
however, persisted in their design, and each incited his de-
pendents to rebel. But God opposed them, and brought all
their machinations to nought. For immediately the king's
officers, who were left in charge, on discovering the affair,
reduced Ralph to such distress, that- seizing a vessel at Nor-
wich, he committed himself to the sea. His wife, covenanting
for personal safety; and delivering up the castle, followed her
husband. Roger being thrown into chains by the king,
visited, or rather inhabited, a prison, during the remainder
of his life ; a young man of abominable treachery, and by
no means imitating his father's conduct.

His father, indeed, William Fitz-Osberne,* might have
been compared, nay, I know not if he might not even have
been preferred, to the very best princes. By his advice,
William had first been inspirited to invade, and next, assisted
by his valour, to keep possession of England. The energy
of his mind was seconded by the almost boundless liberality .
of his hand. Hence it arose, that by the multitude of soldiers,
to whom he gave extravagant pay, he repelled the rapacity
of the enemy, and ensured the favour of the people. In con-

* « W. Fitz-Osberne was )nly the father-m-law of Ralph de Guader.*

— 'HAftDY

AD- 1074.1 WILLIAM FITZ-OSBEENE. 289

sequence, by this boundless profusion, he incurred the king's
severe displeasure ; .because he had improvidently exhausted
his treasures. The regulations which he established in his
county of Hereford, remain in full force at the present day ;
that is to say, that no knight* should be fined more than
seven shillings for whatever offence : whereas, in other pro-
vinces, for a very small fault in transgressing the commands
of their lord, they pay twenty or twenty-five. Fortune,
however, closed these happy successes by a dishonourable
termination, when the supporter of so great a government,
the counsellor of England and Normandy, went into Flan-
ders, through fond regard for a woman, and there died by
the hands of his enemies. For the elder Baldwin, of whom
I have before spoken, the father of Matilda, had two sons ;
Robert, who marrying the countess of Frisia, while his
father yet lived, took the surname of Friso : Baldwin, who,
after his father, presided some years over Flanders, and died
prematurely. His two children by his wife Richelda surviv-
ing he had entrusted the guardianship of them to Philip
king of France, whose aunt was his mother, and to William
Fitz-Osberne. William readily undertook this office, that he
might increase his dignity by an union with Richelda. But
she, through female pride, aspiring to things beyond her sex,
and exacting fresh tributes from the people, excited them to
rebellion. Wherefore despatching a messenger to Robert
Friso, they entreat him to accept the government of the
country ; and abjure all fidelity to Arnulph, who was already
called earl. Nor indeed were there wanting persons to
espouse the party of the minor : so that for a long time,
Flanders was disturbed by intestine commotion. This, Fitz-
Osberne, who was desperately in love with the lady, could
not endure, but entered Flanders with a body of troops ;
and, being immediately well received by the persons he came
to defend, after some days, he rode securely from castle to
castle, in a hasty manner with few attendants. On the other
hand, Friso, who was acquainted with this piece of folly, en-

* There is considerable difficulty in distinguishing exactly the various
meanings of the term " miles." Sometimes it is, in its legitimate sense, a
soldier generally ; sometimes it implies a horseman, and frequently it is to
be taken in its modem acceptation for a knight ; the latter appears to be
the meaning here.

V

290 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. m.

trapped him unawares by a secret ambush, and killed him,
fighting bravely but to no purpose, together with his nephew
Arnulph.

Thus possessed of Flanders, he often irritated king William,
by plundering Normandy. His daughter married Canute
king of the Danes, of whom was born Charles,* who now
rules in Flanders. He made peace with king Philip, giving
him his daughter-in-law in marriage, by whom he had Lewis,
who at present reigns in France ; but not long after, being
heartily tired of the match, because his queen was extremely
corpulent, he removed her from his bed, and in defiance of
law and equity, married the wife of the earl of Anjou.
Robert, safe by his afiinity with these princes, encountered
nothing to distress him during his government ; though Bald-
win, the brother of Arnulph, who had an earldom in the pro-
vince of Hainault and in the castle of Valenciennes, by Wil-
liam's assistance made many attempts for that purpose.
Three years before his death, when he was now hoary-
headed, he went to Jerusalem, for the mitigation of his trans-
gressions. After his return he renounced the world, calmly
awaiting his dissolution with Christian earnestness. His son
was that Robert so universally famed in the expedition into
Asia, which, in our times, Europe undertook against the
Turks ; but through some mischance, after his return home,
he tarnished that noble exploit, being mortally wounded in a
tournament, as they call it. Nor did a happier fate attend
his son Baldwin, who, voluntarily harassing the forces of
Henry king of England, in Normandy, paid dearly for his
youthful temerity : for, being struck on the head vdth a pole,
and deceived by the professions of several physicians, he lost
his life ; the principality devolving on Charles, of whom we
Imve spoken before.
r Now, king William conducting himself with mildness'
[ towards the obedient but with severity to the rebellious,^pps^~"
i sessed the whole of England in tranquillity, holding all the
\ W^.lsh tributary to him. At this time too, beypnd sea, being
\ pever unemployed, he nearly annihilated the county of Maine,

* " Charles, called the Good. He was the son of Canute IV, king of
Denmark, and Adele, daughter of Robert le Frison. He succeeded Bou-
douin VII, as earl of Flanders (17th June, 1119,) and died 2nd March,
1127."— Hardy.

A.D. 1073.] DEFEAT OF THE DANES. 291

leading thither an expedition composed of English ; who,
though they had been easily conquered in their own, yet
always appeared invincible in a foreign country. He lost
multitudes of his men at Dol,* a town of Brittany, whither,
irritated by some broil, he had led a military force. He con-
stantly found Philip king of France, the daughter of whose
aunt he had married, unfaithful to him ; because he was en-
vious of the great glory of a man who was vassal both to his
father and to himself. But William did not the less actively
resist his attempts, although his first-born son Robert,
through evil counsel, assisted him in opposition to his father.
Whence it happened, that in an attack at Gerborai, the son
became personally engaged with his father ; wounded him
and killed his horse : William, the second son, departed with
a hurt also, and many of the king's party were slain. In all
other respects, during the whole of his life, he was so fortu-
nate, that foreign and distant nations feared nothing more
than his name. He had subdued the inhabitants so com-
pletely to his will, that without any opposition, he first caused ^ q r^ ^
an account to be taken of every person ; compiled a register
of the rent of every estate throughout Englandjf and made
all free men, of every description, take the oath of fidelity to
him. Canute, king of the Danes, who was most highly ele-
vated both by his afiinity to Robert Friso and by his own
power, alone menaced his dignity ; a rumour being generally
prevalent, that he would invade England, a country due to
him from his relationship to the ancient Canute : and indeed
he would have effected it, had not God counteracted hig
boldness by an unfavourable wind. But this circumstance

* " King William now went over sea, and led his army to Brittany, and
beset the castle of Do! ; but the Bretons defended it, until the king came
from France ; whereupon king William departed thence, having lost there
both men and horses, and many of his treasures, (Sax. Chron. a.d. 1076.)
This event is more correctly attributed by Florence and others to the pre-
ceding year." — Hardy.

t Domesday book. This invaluable record, which has been printed by
order of the House of Commons, contains a survey of the kingdom, noting,
generally, for there are some variations in different counties, the proprietors
and value of lands, both at the time of the survey and during the reign of
Edward the Confessor, the quantity of arable, wood, and pasture, &c. th«
various kinds of tenants and slaves on each estate, and, in some instances,
the stock ; also the number of hides at which it was rated, for the publie
service, with various other ptj-ticuiars.

u2

292 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [b. ui.

reminds me briefly to trace the genealogy of the Danish
kings, who succeeded after our Canute ; adding at the same
time, somewhat concerning the Norwegians.

As it has been before observed, Harold succeeded in Eng-
land ; Hardecanute, and his sons, in Denmark : for Magnus
the son of Olave, whom I have mentioned in the history of
our Canute, as having been killed by his subjects, had re-
covered Norway, which Canute had subdued. Harold dying
in England, Hardecanute held both kingdoms for a short
time. On his decease, Edward the Simple succeeded, who,
satisfied with his paternal kingdom, despised his foreign domi-
nions as burdensome and barbarous. One Sweyn, doubt-
lessly a most exalted character, was then made Hng of the
Danes.* When his government had prospered for several
years, Magnus, king of the Norwegians, with the consent of
some ot the Danes, expelled him by force, and subjected the
land to his own will. Sweyn, thus expelled, went to the
king oi Sweden, and collecting, by his assistance, Swedes,
Vandals, and Goths, he returned, to regain the kingdom:
but, through the exertions of the Danes, who were attached
to the government of Magnus, he experienced a repetition
of his former ill-fortune. This was a great and memorable
battle among those barbarous people: on no other occasion
did the Danes ever experience severer conflict, or happier
success. Indeed, to this very time, they keep unbroken the
vow, by which they had bound themselves, before the con-
test, that they would consecrate to future ages the vigil of
St. Lawrence, for on that day the battle was fought, by fast-
ing and alms ; and then also Sweyn fled, but soon after, on
the death of Magnus, he received his kingdom entire.

To Magnus, in Norway, succeeded one Sweyn, surnamed
Hardhand; not elevated by royal descent, but by boldness
and cunning : to him Olave, the uncle of Magnus, whom
they call a saint; to Olave, Harold Harvagre, the brother
of Olave, who had formerly, when a young man, served
under the emperor of Constantinople. Being, at his com-
mand, exposed to a lion, for having debauched a woman of
quaUty, he strangled the huge beast by the bare vigour of
his arms. He was slain in England by Harold, the son of

* Sweyn succeeded to the kingdom of Denmark on the death of
Magnus in 1047.

A.D. 1069.] DENMARK AND NORWAY. 293

Godwin. His sons, Olave and Magnus, divided the king-
dom of their father ; but Magnus dying prematurely, Olave
seized the whole. To him succeeded his son Magnus, who
was lately miserably slain in Ireland, on which he had rashly
made a descent. They relate, that Magnus, the elder son of
Harold, was, after the death of his father, compassionately
sent home by Harold, king of England ; and that in return
for this kindness, he humanely treated Harold, the son of
Harold, when he came to him after William's victory : tha
he took him with him, in an expedition he made to England,
in the time of William the younger, when he conquered the
Orkney and Mevanian Isles,* and meeting with Hugo, earl
of Chester, and Hugo, earl of Shrewsbury, put the first to
flight, and the second to death. The sons of the last Mag-
nus, Hasten and Si ward, yet reign conjointly, having divided
the empire: the latter, a seemly and spirited youth, shortly
since went to Jerusalem, passing through England, and per-
formed many famous exploits against the Saracens; more
especially in the siege of Sidon, whose inhabitants raged
furiously against the Christians through their connection
with the Turks.

But Sweyn, as I have related, on his restoration to the
sovereignty of the Danes, being impatient of quiet, sent his
son Canute twice into England ; first with three hundred,
and then with two hundred, ships. His associate in the
former expedition was Osbern, the brother of Sweyn ; in
the latter, Hacco : but, being each of them bribed, they frus-
trated the young man's designs, and returned home without
effecting their purpose. In consequence, becoming highly
disgraced by king Sweyn for bartering their fidelity for
money, they were driven into banishment. Sweyn, when
near his end, bound all the inhabitants by oath, that, as he
had fourteen sons, they should confer the kingdom on each
of them in succession, as long as his issue remained. On
his decease, his son Harold succeeded for three years : to
him Canute, whom his father had formerly sent into Eng-
land. Remembering his original failure, he prepared, as we
have heard, more than a thousand vessels against England :
his father-in-law, Robert Friso, the possessor of six hundred
more, supporting him. But being detained, for almost two
* Man and Anglesey.

294 TTlLLIAll OF MALMESBURT. [b. hi

years, by the adverseness of the wind, he changed his de-
sign, affirming, that it must be by the determination of God,
that he could not put to sea : but afterwards, misled by the
suggestions of some persons, who attributed the failure of
their passage to the conjurations of certain old women, he
sentenced the chiefs, whose wives were accused of this trans-
gression, to an intolerable fine; cast his brother, Olave, the
principal of the suspected faction into chains, and sent him
into exile to his father-in-law. The barbarians, in conse-
quence, resenting this attack upon their liberty, killed him
while in church, clinging to the altar, and promising repara-
tion. They say that many miracles were shown from heaven
at that place; because he was a man strictly observant ot
fasting and almsgiving, and pursued the transgressors of the
divine laws more rigorously than those who offended agaiiwt
himself; from which circumstance, he was consecrated a
martyr by the pope of Rome. After him, the murderers,
that they might atone for their crime by some degree of
good, redeemed Olave from captivity, for ten thousand
marks. After ignobly reigning during eight years, he left
the government to his brother Henry : who living virtuously
for twenty-nine years, went to Jerusalem, and breathed his
last at sea. Nicholas, the fifth in the sovereignty, still
survives.*

The king of Denmark then, as I have said, was the only
obstacle to William's xminterrupted "enjoyment : on whose
account' he enlisted such an immense multitude of stipen-
diary soldiers out of every province on this side the moun-
tains, that their numbers oppressed the kingdom. But he,
with his usual magnaminity, not regarding the expense,
had engaged even Hugo the Great, brother to the king of
France, with his bands to serve in his army. He was ac-
customed to stimulate and incite his own valour, by the
remembrance of Robert Guiscard ; saying it was disgraceful
to yield, in courage, to him whom he surpassed in rank.
For Robert, born of middling parentage in Normandy, that
is, neither very low nor very high, had gone, a few years
before William's arrival in England, with fifteen knights,
into Apulia, to remedy the narrowness of his own circum-

* Nicolaa reigned from a.d. 1105 to a.d. 1135, June 25, when he waa
murdered.

*j). 1085.1 ROBERT GUISCARD. 295

stances, by entering into the service of that inactive race of
people. Not many years elapsed, ere, by the stupendous
assistance of God, he reduced the whole country under his
power. For where his strength failed, his ingenuity was
alert : j&rst receiving the towns, and after, the cities into
confederacy with him. Thus he became so successful, as
to make himself duke of Apulia and Calabria ; his brother
Richard, prince of Capua; and his other brother, Roger,
earl of Sicily. At last, giving Apulia to his son Roger, he
crossed the Adriatic with his other son Boamund, and taking
Durazzo, was immediately proceeding against Alexius, em-
peror of Constantinople, when a messenger from pope Hilde-
brand stopped h'm in the heat of his career. For Henry,
emperor of Germany, son of that Henry we have before
mentioned, being incensed against the pope, for having ex-
communicated him on account of the ecclesiastical investi-
tures, led an army against Rome ; besieged it ; expelled
Hildebrand, and introduced Guibert of Ravenna. Guiscard
i! earning this by the letter of the expelled pope, left his son
iJoamund, with the army, to follow up his designs, and
returned to Apulia; where quickly getting together a body
of Apulians and Normans, he proceeded to Rome. Nor did
Henry wait for a messenger to announce his approach ; but,
affrighted at the bare report, fled with his pretended pope.
Rome, freed from intruders, received its lawful sovereign;
but soon after again lost him by similar violence. Then too,
Alexius, learning that Robert was called home by the ur-
gency of his affairs, and hoping to put a finishing hand to
the war, rushed against Boamund, who commanded the
troops wliich had been left. The Norman youth, however,
observant of his native spirit, though far inferior in number,
turned to flight, by dint of military skill, the undisciplined
Greeks and the other collected nations. At the same time,
too, the Venetians, a people habituated to the sea, attacking
Guiscard, who having settled the object of his voyage was
now saiKng back, met with a similar calamity : part were
drowned or killed, the rest put to flight. He, continuing
his intended expedition, induced many cities, subject to
Alexius, to second his views. The emperor took off, by
crime, the man he was unable to subdue by arms: falsely
promising his wife an imperial match. By her artifices, he

296 WILLIAM OF JIALMESBURY. [am

drank poison,* which she had prepared, and died ; deserving,
had God so pleased, a nobler death: for he was unconquer-
able by the sword of an enemy, but fell a victim to domestic
treachery. He was buried at Yenusium in Apulia, having
the following epitaph :

Here Guiscard lies, the terror of the world,
Who from the Capitol Rome's sovereign hurl'd.
No band collected could Alexis free,
Flight only ; Venice, neither flight nor sea.

And since mention has been made of Hildebrand, I shall re-
late some anecdotes of him, which I have not heard trivially,
but from the sober relation of a person who would swear
that he had learned them from the mouth of Hugo abbat of
Clugny; whom I admire and commend to notice, from the
consideration, that he used to declare the secret thoughts of
others by the prophetic intuition of his mind. Pope Alex-
ander, seeing the energetic bent of his disposition, had made
him chancellor f of the holy see. In consequence, by virtue
of his office, he used to go through the provinces to correct
abuses. All ranks of people flocked to him, requiring judg-
ment on various affairs; all secular power was subject to
him, as well out of regard to his sanctity as his office.
Whence it happened, one day, when there was a greater con-
course on horseback than usual, that the abbat aforesaid,
with his monks, was gently proceeding in the last rank ; and
beholding at a distance the distinguished honour of this
man, that so many earthly rulers awaited his nod, he was
revolving in his mind sentiments to the following effect:
*' By what dispensation of God was this fellow, of diminu-
tive stature and obscure parentage, surrounded by a retinue
of so many rich men ? Doubtless, from having such a crowd
of attendants, he was vain-glorious, and conceived loftier no-
tions than were becoming." Scarcely, as I have said, had
he imagined this in his heart, when the archdeacon, turning
back his horse, and spurring him, cried out from a distance,
beckoning the abbat, " You," said he, " you have imagined
falsely, wrongly deeming me guilty of a thing of which I am
innocent altogether; for I neither impute this as glory to

• "Hoveden, who follows Malmesbiuy, adds that Alexius married,
earowned, and then burnt alive his female accomplice." — Hardy.
t Archdeacon, and afterwards chancellor. Baronius, x. 289.

•.D.1085.] OF POPE GREGOKY VII. 297

myself, if glory that can be called which vanishes quickly,
nor do I wish it to be so imputed by others, but to the
blessed apostles, to whose servant it is exhibited." Redden-
ing with shame, and not daring to deny a tittle, he replied
only, " My lord, I pray thee, how couldst thou know the
secret thought of my heart which I have communicated to
no one ?" "All that inward sentiment of yours," said he,
" was brought from your mouth to my ears, as though by
a pipe."

Again, entering a country church, in the same province,
they prostrated themselves before the altar, side by side.
When they had continued their supplications for a long
period, the archdeacon looked on the abbat with an angry
countenance. After they had prayed some time longer, he
went out, and asking the reason of his displeasure, received
this answer, " K you love me, do not again attack me with
an injury of this kind ; my Lord Jesus Christ, beautiful
beyond the sons of men, was visibly present to my entreaties,
listening to what I said and kindly looking assent ; but, at-
tracted by the earnestness of your prayer, he left me and
turned to you. I think you will not deny it to be a species
of injury to take from a friend the author of his salvation.
Moreover, you are to know that mortality of mankind and
destruction hang over this place ; and the token by which I
formed such a conclusion was my seeing the angel of the
Lord standing upon the altar with a naked sword, and wav-
ing it to and fro : I possess a more manifest proof of t?ie
impending ruin, from the thick, cloudy air which, as you see,
already envelopes that province. Let us make haste to
escape, then, lest we perish with the rest." Having said
this, they entered an inn for refreshment ; but, as soon as
food was placed before them, the lamentations of the house-
hold took away their famished appetites : for first one, and
then another, and presently many of the family suddenly
lost their lives by some unseen disaster. The contagion
then spreading to the adjoining houses, they mounted their
mules, and departed, fear adding wings to their flight.

Hildebrand had presided for the pope at a council in Gaul^
where many bishops being degraded, for having formerly
acquired their churches by simonv, gave place to better men.
There was one, to whom a suspicion of this apostacy at-

I

298 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. b. in

taclied, but he could neither be convicted by any witnesses,
nor confuted by any argument. When it was supposed he
must be completely foiled, still like the slippery snake he
eluded detection ; so skilled was he in speaking, that he baf-
fled all. Then said the archdeacon, " Let the oracle of God
be resorted to, let man's eloquence cease ; we know for certain
Khat episcopal grace is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that
whosoever purchases a bishopric, supposes the gift of the
Holy Ghost may be procured by money. Before you then,
who are assembled by the will of the Holy Ghost, let him
say, * Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Ghost,' and if he shall speak it articulately, and with-
out hesitation, it will be manifest to me that he has obtained
his office, not by purchase, but legally." He willingly ac-
cepted the condition, supposing nothing less than any diffi-
culty in these words; and indeed he perfectly uttered,
" Glory be to the Father, and to the Son," but he hesitated
at the " Holy Ghost." A clamour arose on all sides, but he
was never able, by any exertion, either at that time or for
the remainder of his life, to name the Holy Spirit. The
abbat so often mentioned was a witness of this miracle ; who
taking the deprived bishop with him into different places,
often laughed at the issue of the experiment. Any person
doubting the certainty of this relation, must be confuted by
all Europe, which is aware that the numbers of the Clugniac
order were increased by this abbat.

On the death of Alexander, therefore, Hildebr^d, called
Gregory the Seveiith","SUt5CcMe'±r* He openly asserted what
others had whispered, excommunicating those persons who,
having been elected, should receive the investiture f of their
churches, by the ring and staff, through the hands of the
laity. On this account Henry, emperor of Germany, being
incensed that he should so far presume without his concur-
rence, expelled him from Rome, as I observed, after the ex-
piration of eleven years, and brought in Guibert. Not long
after, the pope, being seized with that fatal disease which he
had no doubt would be mortal, was requested by the cardinals

• He was elected pope the 22nd of April, 1073, and died 26th May,
1085.— Haudy.

t Jnsrestiture was a symbolical mode of receiving possession of a bene-
fkce, dignity, or office.

A.U. 10850 DESIDERIUS VICTOR ODO. 299

to appoint his successor ; referring him to the example of St.
Peter, who, in the church's earliest infancy, had, while yet
living, nominated Clement. He refused to follow this ex-
ample, because it had anciently been forbidden by councils :
he would advise, however, that if they wished a person power-
ful in worldly matters, they should choose Desiderius, abbat
of Cassino, who would quell the violence of Guibert success-
fully and opportunely by a military force ; but if they wanted a
rehgious and eloquent man, they should elect Odo bishop of Os-
tia. Thus died a man, highly acceptable to God, though perhaps
rather too austere towards men. Indeed it is affirmed^ that in
the beginning of the first commotion between him and the em-
peror, he would not admit him within his doors, though bare-
footed, and carrying shears* and scourges, despising a man
guilty of sacrilege, and of incest with his own sister. The
emperor, thus excluded, departed, vowing that this repulse
should be the death of many a man. And immediately do-
ing all the injury he was able to the Roman see, he excited
thereby the favourers of the pope, on every side, to throw off
their allegiance to himself; for one Rodulph, revolting at the
command of the pope, who had sent him a crown in the
name of the apostles, he was immersed on all sides in the
tumult of war. But Henry, ever superior to ill fortune, at
length subdued him and all others faithlessly rebelling. At
last, driven from his power, not by a foreign attack, but the
domestic hatred of his son, he died miserably. To Hilde-
brand succeeded Desiderius, called Victor, who at his first
mass fell down dead, though from what mischance is un-
known ; the cup, if it be possible to credit such a thing, be-
ing poisoned. The election then fell upon Odo, a French-
man by birth, first archdeacon of Rheims, then prior of
Clugny, afterwards bishop of Ostia, lastly pope by the name
of Urban. ' . t\

Thus far I shall be pardoned, for having digressed, as ^^-'^^
from the mention of William's transactions, some things
occurred which I thought it improper to omit : now, the

* This seems intended to denote his absolute submission, and willingness
to imdergo any kind of penance which might be enjoined upon him. Some-
times excommunicated persons wore a halter about their necks ; sometimes
they were shorn or scourged prior to receiving absolution. Vide Basnage,
pref. in Canisium, p. 69, 70.

300 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT. [b. m.

reader, who is so inclined, shall learn the more common
habits of his life, and his domestic manners. Above all
then, he was humble to the servants of G-od ; affable to the
obedient ; inexorable to the rebellious. He attended the
offices of the Christian religion, as much as a secular was
able ; so that he daily was present at mass, and heard
vespers and matins. He built one monastery in England,
and another in Normandy ; that at Caen* first, which he
dedicated to St. Stephen, and endowed with suitable estates,
and most magnificent presents. There he appointed "Lan-
K franc, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, abbat : a man
6''M!^Ai<Wprthy to be compared to the ancients, in knowledge, and' in
^ Eeiigion : of whom it may be truly said, " Cato the third isT
descended from heaven ; " so much had an heavenly savour
tinctured his heart and tongue ; so much was the whole
Western world excited to the knowledge of the liberal arts,
by his learning ; and so earnestly did the monastic profession
labour in the work of religion, either from his example, or
authority. No sinister means profited a bishop in _thQse
days ; nor could an abbat procure advancement by purchase.
He who had the best report for undeviating sanctity, was
most honoured, and most esteemed both by the king and by
the archbishop. William built another monastery near
Hastings, dedicated to St. Martin, which was also called
Battle, because there the principal church stands on the very
spot, where, as they report, Harold was found in the thickest
heaps of the slain. When little more than a boy, yet gifted
with the wisdom of age, he removed his uncle Malger, from
the archbishopric of Rouen. He was a man not ordinarily
learned, but, through his high rank, forgetful of his pro-
fession, he gave too much attention to hunting and hawking ;
and consumed the treasures of the church in riotous living.
The fame of this getting abroad, he never, during his whole
life-time, obtained the pall, because the holy see refused the
distinction of that honour, to a man who neglected his
sacred office. Wherefore being frequently cited, his nephew

* " The abbey of St. Stephen's, Caen, is stated to have been completed
in 1064, but when it was dedicated is not accurately known : some fix the
dedication in 1073, others in 1081, and Orderic in 1077. There was,
however, a foundation charter granted subsequently to 1066, for in it
WHliam styles himself kia<' '' — "iRDV.

A. D. 1085.] MAURILIUS RETURNS FROM THE DEAD. 301

reprehending his offences, and still conducting himself in
the same manner, he was, from the urgency of the case,
ultimately degraded. Some report that there was a secret
reason for his being deprived ; that Matilda, whom William
had married, was very nearly related to him : that Malger,
in consequence, through zeal for the Christian faith, could
not endure that they should riot in the bed of consanguinity ;
and that he hurled the weapon of excommunication against
his nephew, and his consort : that, when the anger of the
young man was roused by the complaints of his wife, an
occasion was sought out, through which the persecutor of
their crime might be driven from his see : but that
afterwards, in riper years, for the expiation of their offence,
he built the monastery, to St. Stephen at Caen ; and she also
one, in the same town, to the Holy Trinity ; * each of them
choosing the inmates according to their own sex.

To Malger succeeded Maurilius of Feschamp ; a monk
commendable for many virtues, but principally for his
abstinence. After a holy and well-spent life, when he
came, by the call of God, to his end, bereft of vital breath,
he lay, as it were, dead for almost half a day. Nevertheless,
when preparation was made to carry him into the church,
recovering his breath, he bathed the by-standers in tears of
joy, and comforted them, when lost in amazement, with this
address : " Let your minds be attentive while you hear the
last words of your pastor. I have died a natural death, but
I am come back, to relate to you what I have seen ; yet shall
I not continue with you long, because it delights me to sleep
in the Lord. The conductors of my spirit were adorned with
every elegance both of countenance and attire ; the gentleness
of their speech accorded with the splendour of their garments;
so much so, that I could wish for nothing more than the
attentions of such men. Delighted therefore with their
soothing approbation, I went, as it appeared to me, towards
the east. A seat in paradise was promised me, which I was
shortly to enter. In a moment, passing over Europe and

♦ "The convent of the Holy Trinity was founded by Matilda 1066, and
its church dedicated on the 18th of June in that year. Duke William on
the same day, presenting at the altar his infant daughter Cecilia, devoted
her to the service of God in this monastery, where she became the second
abbess." — Hardy.

302 "WILLIAM OP SIALMESBLTtY- [Bin.

entering Asia, we came to Jerusalem ; where, having
worshipped tht saints, we proceeded to Jordan. The
residents on tht hither bank joining company with my
conductors, made i\ joyful party. I was now hastening to pass
over the river, through longing desire to see what was
beyond it, when my companions informed me, that God had
commanded, that I must first be terrified by the sight of the
demons ; in order that the venial sins, which I had not
wiped out by confession, might be expiated, by the dread of
terrific forms. As soon as this was said, there came opposite
to me, such a multitude of devils, brandishing pointed
weapons, and breathing out fire, that the plain appeared like
steel, and the air like flame. I was so dreadfully alarmed at
them, that had the earth clave asunder, or the heaven
opened, I should not have known whither to have betaken
myself for safety. Thus panic-struck, and doubting whither
to go, I suddenly recovered my life, though instantaneously
about to lose it again, that by this relation I might be
serviceable to your salvation, unless you neglect it : " and
almost as soon as he had so said, he breathed out his soul.
His body, then buried under ground, in the church of St.
Mary, is now, by divine miracle, as they report, raised up
more than three feet above the earth.

Moreover, William, following up the design he had
formerly begun in Normandy, permitted Stigand, the
pretended and false archbishop, to be deposed by the Roman
cardinals and by Ermenfred bishop of Sion. Walkelin
succeeded him at Winchester, whose good works, surpassing
fame, will resist the power of oblivion, as long as the
episcopal see shall there continue : in Kent succeeded
Lanfranc, of whom I have before spoken, who was, by th«
gift of God, as resplendent in England,

As Lucifer, who bids the stars retire.
Day's rosy harbinger with piirple fire ;

so much did the monastic germ sprout by his care, so
strongly grew the pontifical power while he survived. The
king was observant of his advice in such wise, that he
deemed it proper to concede whatever Lanfranc asserted
ought to be done. At his instigation also was abolished the
infamous custom of those ill-disposed people who used to selL
their slaves into Ireland. The credit of this action, I know

4.D.1080 BISHOP WALKER MURDERED. 303

not exactly whether to attribute to Lanfranc, or to Wulstan
bishop of Worcester ; who would scarcely have induced the
king, reluctant from the profit it produced him, to this
measure, had not Lanfranc commended it, and Wulstan,
powerful from his sanctity of character, commanded it by
episcopal authority : Wulstan, than whom none could be
more just ; nor could any in our time equal him in the power
of miracles, or the gift of prophecy : of which I propose
hereafter to relate some particulars, should it meet Hs most
holy approbation.

But since the die of fortune is subject to uncertain casts,
many adverse circumstances happened during those times.
There was a disgraceful contention* between the abbat of
Glastonbury and his monks ; so that after altercation they
came to blows. The monks being driven into the church,
bewailed their miseries at the holy altar. The soldiei-s, rush-
ing in, slew two of them, wounded fourteen, and drove away
the rest. Nay the rage of the military had even bristled
the crucifix with arrows. The abbat, rendered infamous by
such a criminal outrage, was driven into exile during the
whole of the king's life ; but, upon his decease, he was re-
stored to his honours, a sum of money being paid to such as
interceded for him, for the expiation of his transgression.

Again, a cruel and ignominious end overtook Walker
bishop of Durham, whom the Northumbrians, a people ever
ripe for rebellion, throwing oiF all respect for his holy orders,
put to death, after having severely insulted him. A consi-
derable number of Lorrainers were killed there also, for the
bishop was of that country. The cause of the murder was
this. The bishop, independently of his see, was warder j" of
the whole county : over public business he had set his rela-
tion Gilbert, and over domestic, the canon Leobin ; both men
of diligence in their respective employments, but rash. The
bishop endured their want of moderation in this respect, out
of regard to their activity ; and, as he had placed them in office,

* "This disgraceful contention happened in the year 1083. It seems to
have arisen from the abbat (Thurstan) attempting to introduce a new chant,
brought from' Feschamp, instead of the Gregorian, to which the monks had
been accustomed." — Hardy.

t Bracton says (lib. ii. c. 8, sec. 4), that the bishop of Durham had as
full power in the county of Durham as the king in his own palace. The
privileges of the see of Durham trace back to the time of St. Cuthbert,

304 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. fn. m.

treated them with great kindness. "For our nature ever
indulges itself, and favourably regards its own kind works."
This Leobin caused Liwulph, a servant so dearly beloved by
St. Cuthbert that the saint himself used to appear to him,
even when waking, and prescribe his decisions ; him, I say,
he caused to be killed by Gilbert ; smitten with envy at lus
holding the higher place in the prelate's esteem for his know-
ledge and equity in legal determinations. Walker, terrified
with this intelligence, offered the furious family of the de-
ceased the result of a legal inquiry,* affirming that Leobin
would be the cause of his death and of that of his friends.
When the matter came to a trial, this ferocious race of peo-
ple were not to be soothed by reasons of any kind ; on the
contrary, they threw the whole blame on the bishop, because
they had seen both the murderers familiarly entertained in
his court after the death of Liwulph. Hence arose clamour
and indignation, and Gilbert, as he was of his own accord,
going out of the church, where he had been sitting with the
bishop, that he might, at his personal peril, save the life of
his master, was impiously slain. The bishop, while making
overtures of peace before the gates, next glutted the rage of
the people with his blood ; the fomenter of the crime, too,
Leobin, was half-burnt, as he would not quit the church till
it was set on fire, and when he rushed out he was received
on a thousand spears. This had been predicted by Edgitha,
relict of king Edward; for when she had formerly seen
Walker, with his milk-white hair, rosy countenance, and ex-
traordinary stature, conducted to Winchester to be conse-
crated J " We have here," said she, " a noble martyr :" being
led to form such a presage by reflecting on the muti-
nous disposition of that people. To him succeeded William,
abbat of St. Carilef, who established monks at Durham.

Moreover, the year before the king's death, there was a
mortality both among men and cattle, and severe tempests,
accompanied with such thunder and lightning, as no person
before had ever seen or heard. And in the year he died, a
contagious fever destroyed more than half the people; in-
deed the attack of the disease killed many, and then, from
the unseasonableness of the weather, a famine following, it

• Walker oifered to purge himself by oath from all participation in the
murder. See Flor. Wig. a.d. 1080.

A.D. 1083.] OF KING WrLLIAM*S CHILDREN. 305

spread universally and cut off those whom the fever had
spared.

In addition to his other virtues he, more especially in early
youth, was observant of chastity ; insomuch that it was very
commonly reported that he was impotent. Marrying, how-
ever, at the recommendation of the nobility, he conducted
himself, during many years, in such wise, as never to be sus-
pected of any criminal intercourse. He had many children
by.JMatilda, whose obedience to her husband and fruitfulness
in children excited in his mind the tenderest regard for her,
although there are not wanting persons who prate about his
having renounced his former chastity ; and that, after he had
acdeded to the royal dignity, he was connected with the
daughter of a certain priest, whom the queen caused to be
removed, by being hamstrung by one of her servants ; on
which account he was exiled, and Matilda was scourged to
death with a bridle. But I esteem it folly to believe this of
so great a king ; though I decidedly assert that a slight dis-
agreement arose between them, in latter times, on account of
their son Robert, whom his mother was said to supply with
a military force out of her revenues. Nevertheless, he
proved that his conjugal affection was not in the least dimi-
nished by this circumstance, as he buried her with great L o v .
magnificence, on her death, four years before his own ; and -^^-^^ i
weeping most profusely for many days showed how keenly ^ '^""-^^
he felt her loss : moreover, from that time, if we give credit^- a.'v,^\j»>
to report, he refrained from every gratification. The queen *^;j;^ »
M'as buried at Caen, in the monastery of the Holy Trinity. <^,J,^^
The same proof of regard was evident in the care he took <;^
of the funeral of queen Edgitha ; who, placed by his atten-
tion near her husband at Westminster, has a tomb richly
wrought with gold and silver.

His sons were Robert, Richard, William, and Henry.
The two last reigned after him successively in England :
Robert, irritated that Normandy was refused him during his
father's life-time, went indignantly to Italy, that by marry-
ing the daughter of Boniface the marquis, he might procure

• " Matilda died 2nd Nov. 1083. She bequeathed to this monastery her
crown, sceptre, and ornaments of state. A copy of her will may be seen
in the Essais Historiques, by the Abb6 de la Rue, tom. ii. p. 437." —
Haiu>y,

X

306 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT, [b. m.

assistance in those parts, to oppose the king : but failing of
this connexion, he excited Philip king of France against his
father. Wherefore, disappointed of his paternal blessing
and inheritance, at his death, he missed England, retaining
with difficulty the duchy of Normandy : and pawning even
this, at the expiration of nine years, to his brother William,
he joined the expedition into Asia, with the other Christians.
From thence, at the end of four years, he returned with
credit for his military exploits ; and without difficulty sat
himself down in Normandy, because his brother William be-
ing recently dead, king Henry, unsettled on account of his
fresh-acquired power, deemed it enough to retain England
under his command : but as I must speak of this in another
place, I will here pursue the relation I had begun concerning
the sons of William the Great.

Richard affi^rded his noble father hopes of his future
greatness ; a fine youth and of aspiring disposition, consider-
ing his age : but an untimely death quickly withered the bud
of this promising flower. They relate that while hunting
deer in the New-forest, he contracted a disorder from a
stream of infected air. This is the place which William his
father, desolating the towns and destroying the churches for
more than thirty miles, had appropriated for the nurture and
refuge of wild beasts;* a dreadful spectacle, indeed, that
where before had existed human intercourse and the worship
of God, there deer, and goats, and other animals of that
kind, should now range unrestrained, and these not subjected
to the general service of mankind. Hence it is truly
asserted that, in this very forest, William his son, and his
grandson Richard, son of Robert, earl of Normandy, by the
severe judgment of God, met their deaths, one by a wound
in the breast by an arrow, the other by a wound in the neck,
or as some say, from being suspended by the jaws on the
branch of a tree, as his horse passed beneath it.

His daughters were five; first, Cecilia, abbess of Caen,
who still survives : the second, Constantia, married to Alan

* Some MSS. omit from " a dreadful spectacle," to the end of the paragraph ,
and substitute thus, " Here he willingly passed his time, here he delighted to
follow the chase, I will not say for days but even months together. Here,
too, many accidents befell the royal race, which the recent recollection of
the inhabitants supplies to inquirers."

A. r. 1087.]. DAUGHTERS OF WILLIAM I. 307

Fergant, earl of Brittany, excited the inhabitants, by the
severity of her justice, to administer a poisonous potion to
her : the third, Adela, the wife of Stephen, earl of Blois, a
lady celebrated for secular industry, lately took the veil at
Marcigny. The names of the two others have escaped me. *
One of these, as we have said, was betrothed to Harold, and
died ere she was marriageable : the other was affianced, by
messengers, to Alphonso, king of Gallicia, but obtained,
from God, a virgin death. A hard substance, which proved
the frequency of her prayers, was found upon her knees after
her decease.

Honouring the memory of his father, by every practicable
method, in the latter part of his life, he caused his bones,
formerly interred at Nicea, to be taken up by means of a
person sent for that purpose, in order to convey them else-
where; who, successfully returning, stopped in Apulia, on
hearing of the death of William, and there buried this illus-
trious man's remains. He treated his mother, who, before
the death of his father, had married one Herlewin de Conte-
ville, a man of moderate wealth, with singular indulgence
as long as she lived. William's brothers, by this match,
were Robert, a man of heavy, sluggish disposition, whom he
made earl of Moreton ; and Odo, whom, while he was earl,
he made bishop of Bayeux ; and when king, created him earl
of Kent. Being of quicker talents than the other, he was
governor of all England, under the king, after the death of
William Fitz-Osberne. He had wonderful skill in accumu-
lating treasure; possessed extreme craft in dissembling: so
that, though absent, yet, stuffing the scrips of the pilgrims
with letters and money, he had nearly purchased the Roman
papacy from the citizens. But when, through the rumour of
his intended journey, soldiers eagerly flocked to him from all
parts of the kingdom, the king, taking offijnce, threw him
into confinement ; saying, that he did not seize the bishop of
Bayeu^, but the earl of Kent. His partisans being intimi-
dated by threats, discovered such quantities of gold, that the
heap of precious metal would surpass the belief of the present
age ; and, at last, many sackfuls of wrought gold were also
taken out of the rivers, which he had secretly buried in cer-

♦ Agatha and Adeliza were their names, according to 0rda*icu3
Vitalis, (Hb. iv. 512.)

x2

308 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. in.

tain places. When released, at the death of his brother, he
joined Robert's party, as he was averse to his nephew

William : but then too matters turning out unfavourably, he
was banished England, and went over to his nephew and his
bishopric in Normandy. Afterwards, proceeding with him
on his enterprize to Jerusalem, he died at Antioch while it
was besieged by the Christians.

King William kindly admitted foreigners to his friend-
ship; bestowed honours on them without distinction, and
was attentive to almsgiving; he gave many possessions in
England to foreign churches, and scarcely did his own
munificence, or that of his nobility, leave any monastery un-
noticed, more especially in Normandy, so that their poverty
was mitigated by the riches of England. Thus, in his time,
the monastic flock increased on every side; monasteries
arose, ancient in their rule, but modern in building: but
here I perceive the muttering of those who say, it would
have been better that the old should have been preserved in
their original state, than that new ones should have been
erected from their plunder.

He was of just stature, extraordinary corpulence, fierce
countenance; his forehead bare of hair: of such great
strength of arm, that it was often matter of surprise, that no

ne was able to draw his bow, which himself could bend
when his horse was on full gallop : he was majestic, whether
sitting or standing, although the protuberance of his belly
deformed his royal person : of excellent health, so that he '
was never confined with any dangerous disorder, except at
the last: so given to the pleasures of the chase, that, as I
have before said, ejecting the inhabitants, he let a space of
many miles grow desolate, that, when at liberty from other
avocations, he might there pursue his pleasures. He gave
sumptuous and splendid entertainments, at the principal
festivals; passing, during the years he could conveniently
remain in England, Christmas at Gloucester; Easter at
Winchester; Pentecost at Westminster. At these times a
royal edict summoned thither all the principal persons of
every order, that the ambassadors from foreign nations might
admire the splendour of the assemblage, and the costliness
of the banquets. Nor was he at any time more affable or
Indulgent; in order that the visitants might proclaim uni-

AD. 1087. William's love of ^monet. 309

versally, that his generosity kept pace with his riches. This
mode of banqueting was constantly observed by his first
successor; the second omitted it. ^

Hi^ anxiety for money is the only thing for which he can \
deservedly be blamed.* This he sought all opportunities of \
scraping^together, he cared not how; he would say and do — ^
some things, and, indeed, almost any thing, unbecoming such
great majesty, where the hope of money allured him. I have
here no excuse whatever to offer, unless it be, as one has
said, that, " Of necessity, he must fear many, whom many
fear." For, through dread of his enemies, he used to drain
the country of money, with which he might retard or repel
their attacks; very often, as it happens in human affairs,
where strength failed, purchasing the forbearance of his ene--
miea with gold. This disgraceful calamity is still prevalent,
and every day increases ; so that both towns and churches
are subjected to contributions: nor is this done with firm-
kept faith on the part of the imposers, but whoever offers
more, carries the prize; all former agreements being disre-
garded.

Residing in his latter days in Normandy, when enmity
had arisen between him and the king of France, he, for a
short period, was confined to the house: Philip, scoffing at
this forbearance, is reported to have said, " The king of
England is lying-in at Rouen, and keeps his bed, like a
woman after her delivery ;" jesting on his belly, which he
had been reducing by medicine. Cruelly hurt at this sar-
casm, he replied, " When I go to mass, after my confine-
ment, I will make him an offering of a hundred thousand
candles."! He swore this, " by the Resurrection and Glory
of God :" for he was wont purposely to swear such oaths as,
by the very form of his mouth, would strike terror into the
minds of lus hearers.

• Some MSS. omit fi-om " money," to « I have," and substitute, This
he sought all opportunities of collecting, provided he could allege that tney
were honoiu-able, and not vmbecoming the royal dignity. But he will
readily be excused, because a new government cannot be administered
without large revenues. I have, &c.

+ The Romish ritual directs the woman to kneel, with a lighted taper in
her hand, at the church door, where she is sprinkled with holy water, and
afterwards conducted into the church. The practice seems connected witli
the festival of the Purification. Vide Dm-and, lib. vii. c. 7.

310 WILLIAJVI OF MALMESBURY. [b. in.

Not long after, in the end of the month of Augustj^ when
the corn was ripe on the ground, the clusters on the vines,
and the orchards laden with fruit in full abundance, collect-
ing an army, he entered France in a hostile manner, tramp^
ling down, and laying every thing waste : nothing could
assuage his irritated mind, so determined was he to revenge
this injurious taunt at the expense of multitudes. At last
he set fire to the city of Mantes, where the church of St.
Mary was burnt, together with a recluse who did not think
it justifiable to quit her cell even under such an emergency ;
and the whole property of the citizens was destroyed. Ex-
hilarated by this success, while furiously commanding his
people to add fuel to the conflagration, he approached too
near the flames, and contracted a disorder from the violence
of the fire and the intenseness of the autumnal heat. Some
say, that his horse leaping over a dangerous ditch, ruptured
his rider, where his belly projected over the front of the
saddle. Injured by this accident, he sounded a retreat, and
returning to Rouen, as the malady increased he took to his
bed. His physicians, when consulted, affirmed, from an in-
spection of his urine, that death was inevitable. On hearing
this, he filled the house with his lamentations, because death
had suddenly seized him, before he could efiect that reforma-
tion of life which he had long since meditated. Recovering
his fortitude, however, he performed the duties of a Christian
in confession and receiving the communion. Reluclaully,-
and by compulsion, he bestowed Normandy on Robert ; to
William he gave England ; while Henry received his mater-
nal possessions. He ordered all his prisoners to be released
and pardoned : his treasures to be brought forth, and dis-
tributed to the churches : he gave also a certain sum of
money to repair the church which had been burnt. Thus
rightly ordering all things, he departed on the eighth of the
ides of September, [Sept. 6,] in the fifty-ninth year of his
age : the twenty-second of his reign : the fifty-second of his
duchy : and in the year of our Lord 1087. This was the
same year, in which Canute, king of Denmark, as we have
before related, was killed ; and in which the Spanish Sara-
cens raging against the Christians, were shortly compelled
to retire to their own territories by Alphonso, king of Gal-
licia ; unwillingly evacuating even the cities they had for-
merly occupied.

A.D. 1087.] BERENGAR OF TOURS. 311

The body, enbalmed after royal custom, was brought down
the river Seine to Caen, and there consigned to the earth, a
large assembly of the clergy attending, but few of the laity.
Here might be seen the wretchedness of earthly vicissitude ;
for that man who was formerly the glory of all Europe, and more
powerful than any of his predecessors, could not find a place
of everlasting rest, without contention. For a certain knight,
to whose patrimony the place pertained, loudly exclaiming at
the robbery, forbade his burial : saying, that the ground be-
longed to himself by paternal right ; and that the king had
no claim to rest in a place which he had forcibly invaded.
Whereupon, at the desire of Henry, the only one of his sons
who was present, a hundred pounds of silver* were paid to
this brawler, and quieted his audacious claim : for at that
time, Robert his elder born was in France, carrying on a
war against his own country : William had sailed for Eng-
land, ere the king had well breathed his last ; thinking it
more advantageous to look to his future benefit, than to be
present at the funeral of his father. Moreover, in the disper-
sion of money, neither slow, nor sparing, he brought forth from
its secret hoard, all that treasure which had been accumulated
at Winchester, during a reign of so many years : to the
monasteries he gave a piece of gold ; to each parish church
five shillings in silver : to every county a hundred pounds
to be divided to each poor man severally. He also very
splendidly adorned the tomb of his father, with a large mass
of gold and silver and the refulgence of precious stones.

At this time lived Berengar, the heresiarch of Tours, who
denied, that the bread and wine, when placed on the altar
and consecrated by the priest, were, as the holy church
affirms, the real and substantial body of the Lord. Already
was the whole of Gaul infected wdth this his doctrine, dis-
seminated by means of poor scholars, whom he allured by
daily hire. On this account pope Leo, of holiest memory,
alarmed for the catholic faith, calling a council against him
at Vercelli, dispersed the darkness of this misty error, by the
effulgence of evangelical testimony. But when, after his
death, the poison of heresy again burst forth from the bosoms
of some worthless people where it had long been nurtured,
Hildebrand, in councils, when he was archdeacon, at Tours,

* Sixty shillings down, and as much more afterwards. Orderic. Vital.

312 WILLIAM OP aiALMESBURT, [b. in.

and after, when pope, at Rome, compelled him, after being
convicted, to the abjuration of his opinion ; which matters,
any person desirous of seeing will find recorded in their pro-
per place. Archbishop Lanfranc and Guimund, the most
eloquent man of our times, first monk of St. Leofrid, in Nor-
mandy, afterwards bishop of Aversa in Apulia, confuted
him ; but principally and most forcibly the latter. And,
indeed, though Berengar disgraced the earlier part of his life
by defending certain heresies, yet he came so much to his
senses in riper age, that without hesitation, he was by some
esteemed a saint ; admired for innumerable good qualities,
but especially for his humility and alms-giving : showing
himself master of his large possessions, by dispersing, not
their slave by hoarding and worshipping them. He was so
guarded with respect to female beauty, that he would never
sufier a woman to appear before him, lest he should seem to
enjoy that beauty with his eye, which he did not desire in
his heart. He was used neither to despise the poor nor flatter
the rich : to live by nature's rule, " and having food and
raiment," in the language of the apostle, " therewith to be
content." In consequence, Hildebert, bishop of Mans, a
first-rate poet, highly commends him ; whose words I have
purposely inserted, that I may show this celebrated bishop's
regard to his master ; and at the same time his opinion will
serve for an example to posterity, how he thought a man
ought to live : although, perhaps, from the strength of his
affection, he may have exceeded the bounds of just commend-
ation.

Fame, which the world allows his due,

Shall Berengar, when dead, pursue :

Whom, plac'd on faith's exalted height

The fifth day ravish 'd with fell spite :

Sad was that day, and fatal too.

Where grief and loss united grew,

Whiprein the church's hope and pride.

The law, with its supporter, died.

What sages taught, or poets sung

Bow'd to his wit, and honey'd tongue.

Then holier wisdom's path he trod,

And fill'd his heart and lips with God.

His soul, his voice, his action prov'd

The great Creator's praise he lov'd.

So good, so wise, his growing fame

Shdl soar above the greatest name :

A.D. 1087.J PANYGERIC ON BERENGAR. 313

Whose rank preserv'd his honours gain'd,
Preferr'd the poor to rich ; maintain'd
* The sternest justice. Wealth's ^vide power

Ne'er gave to sloth, or waste, an hour,
Nor could repeated honours, high.
Seduce him from humility;
Who ne'er on money set his mind.
But griev'd he could no object find
Where he might give : and help'd the pooT
Till poverty assail'd his door.
His life by nature's laws to guide,
His mind from vice, his lips from pnde,
Still was his care : to false, the true
Prefer, and nothing senseless do :
E\al to none, but good impart.
And banish lucre, hand and heart.
Whose dress was coarse, and temperance just
Awaited appetite's keen gust :
Was chastity's perpetual guest,
Nor let rank lust disturb his rest.
When nature form'd him, " See," said she,
" While others fade, one bom for me."
Ere justice sought her place of rest
On high, he lock'd her in his breast.
A saint from boyhood, whose great name
Surpasses his exceeding fame,
Which, though the wide world it may fill,
Shall never reach his merit still.
Pious and grave, so humble yet,
That envy,ne'er could him beset ;
For envy weeps, whom still before
She hated, prone now to adore ;
First for his life, but now his fate
She moans, laments his frail estate.
Man truly wise and truly blest !
Thy soul and body both at rest,
May I, when dead, abide with you.
And share the self-same portion too.

You may perceive in these verses, that the bishop ex-
ceeded the just measure of praise ; but eloquence is apt to
recommend itself in such wise; thus a brilliant style pro-
creeds in graceful strain ; thus

" Bewitching eloquence sheds purple flowers."

But though Berengar himself changed his sentiments, yet
was he unable to convert all whom he had infected through-
out the world ; " so dreadful a thing it is to seduce others
from what is right, either by example or by word ; as, per-

314 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Lb rri.

haps, in consequence, you must bear the sins of others after
having atoned for your own." Fulbert, bishop of Chartres,
whom Mary, the mother of our Lord, was seen to cure when
sick, by the milk of her breasts, is said to have predicted
this; for, when lying in the last extremity, he was visited
by many persons, and the house was scarcely large enough
to hold the company, he darted his eye through the throng,
and endeavoured to drive away Berengar, with all the force
he had remaining; protesting that an immense devil stood
near him, and attempted to seduce many persons to follow
him, by beckoning with his hand, and whispering some
enticement. Moreover, Berengar himself, when about to
expire on the day of the Epiphany, sadly sighing, at the
recollection of the wretched people whom, when a very
young man, in the heat of error, he had infected with his
opinions, exclaimed, " To-day, in the day of his manifesta-
tion, my Lord Jesus Christ will appear to me, either to
glorify me, as I hope, for my repentance ; or to punish me,
as I fear, for the heresy I have propagated on others."

We indeed believe, that after ecclesiastical benediction,
those mysteries are the very body and blood of the Saviour ;
induced to such an opinion, by the authority of the ancient
church, and by many miracles recently manifested. Such as
that which St. G-regory exhibited at Rome; and such as
Paschasius relates to have taken place in Germany ; that the
priest Plegild visibly touched the form of a boy, upon the
altar, and that after kissing him he partook of him, turned
into the similitude of bread, after the custom of the church :
which, they relate, Berengar used arrogantly to cavil at, and
to say, that " it was the treacherous covenant of a scoun-
drel, to destroy with his teeth, him whom he had kissed with
his mouth." Such, too, is that concerning the Jewish boy,
who by chance running playfully into a church, with a
Christian of the same age, saw a child torn to pieces on the
altar, and severally divided to the people ; which when, with
childish innocence, he related as truth to his parents, they
placed him in a furnace, where the fire was burning and the
door closed : whence, after many hours, he was snatched by
the Christians, without injury to his person, clothes, or hair;
and being asked how he could escape the devouring flames,
he replied, " That beautiful woman whom I saw sitting id

A.D. 1087.] THE TOMB OF WALWIN. 315

the chair, whose son was divided among the people, always
stood at my right hand in the furnace, keeping oiF the
threatening flames and fiery volumes with her garments."

At that time, in a province of Wales, called Ros, was
found the sepulchre of Walwin, the noble nephew of Arthur ;
he reigned, a most renowned knight, in that part of Britain
which is still named Walwerth; but was driven from his
kingdom by the brother and nephew of Hengist, (of whom I
have spoken in my first book,) though not without first
making them pay dearly for his expulsion. He deservedly
shared, with his uncle, the praise of retarding, for many
years, the calamity of his falling country. The sepulchre of
Arthur is no where to be seen, whence ancient ballads fable
that he is still to come. But the tomb of the other, as I
have suggested, was found in the time of king William, on
the sea-coast, fourteen feet long: there, as some relate, he
was wounded by his enemies, and sufiered shipwreck ; others
say, he was killed by his subjects at a public entertainment.
The truth consequently is doubtful ; though neither of these
men was inferior to the reputation they have acquired.

This, too, was the period in which Germany, for fifty
years, bewailed the pitiable, and almost fatal government of
Henry, of whom I have spoken in the history of William.
He was neither unlearned nor indolent ; but so singled out
by fate for every person to attack, that whoever took up
arms against him seemed, to himself, to be acting for the
good of religion. He had two sons, Conrad and Henry : the
first, not violating the rights of nature towards his father,
having subjugated Italy, died at Arezzo, a city of Tuscany:
the other, in his early age, attacking his parent when he was
somewhat at rest from external molestation, compelled him
to retire from the empire, and when he died shortly after,
honoured him with an imperial funeral. He still survives,
obstinately adhering to those very sentiments, on account of
which he thought himself justified in persecuting his father;
for he grants the investiture of churches by the staff and
ring ; and looks upon the pope as not legally elected without
his concurrence ; although Calixtus, who now presides over
the papal see, has greatly restrained this man's inordinate
ambition: but let the reader wait my farther relation of
these matters in their proper order.

316 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b- nr.

Moreover, pope Hildebrand dying, as I have said, and
Urban being elected by the cardinals, the emperor persisted
in his intention of preferring Guibert, of proclaiming him
pope, and of bringing him to Rome, by the expulsion of the
other. The army, however, of the marchioness Matilda, a
woman, who, forgetful of her sex, and comparable to the
ancient Amazons, used to lead forth her hardy troops to
battle, espoused the juster cause, as it seemed, by her assist-
ance, in succeeding time. Urban obtaining the papal throne,
held quiet possession of it for eleven years. After him
Paschal was appointed by the Romans, who held Henry's
concurrence in contempt. Guibert yet burdened the earth
with his existence, the only sower of sedition, who never,
during his whole life, laid aside his obstinacy, nor conformed
to justice; saying, that the decision of the emperor ought
to be observed; not that of the assassins, or parchment-
mongers of Rome.* In consequence, both of them being
excommunicated in several councils, they treated the sen-
tence with ridicule. Notwithstanding these circumstances,
there were many things praiseworthy in the emperor: he
was eloquent, of great abilities, well read, actively charitable ;
had many good qualities, both of mind and person : was ever
prepared for war, insomuch that he was sixty-two times
engaged in battle; was equitable in adjusting differences;
and when matters were unsuccessful, he would prefer his
griefs to heaven, and wait for redress from thence. Many of
his enemies perished by untimely deaths.

I have heard a person of the utmost veracity relate, that
one of his adversaries, a weak and factious man, while
reclining at a banquet, was, on a sudden, so completely sur-
rounded by mice, as to be unable to escape. So great was
the number of these little animals, that there could scarcely
be imagined more in a whole province. It was in vain, that
they were attacked with clubs and fragments of the benches
which were at hand : and though they were for a long time
assailed by all, yet they wreaked their deputed curse on no

* . . . . lanistarum vel pellificum. It seems a sneer at the sanguinary
disposition of the Roman people, and at the bulls of the pope. In a dis-
pute on the credibility of evidence adduced, it is observed, that the oral
testimony of three bishops was certainly to be preferred " to sheep-skina
blackened with ink and loaded with a leaden seal." Edmer. Hist. Nov. p. 65.

A.D.1087.] OP MAHTANUS SCOTUS. 317

one else; pursuing him only with their teeth, and with a
kind of dreadful squeaking. And although he was carried
out to sea about a javelin's cast by the servants, yet he could
not by these means escape their violence ; for immediately
so great a multitude of mice took to the water, that you
would have sworn the sea was strewed with chaff. But
when they began to gnaw the planks of the ship, and the
water, rushing through the chinks, threatened inevitable
shipwreck, the servants turned the vessel to the shore. The
animals, then also swimming close to the ship, landed first.
Thus the wretch, set on shore, and soon after entirely
gnawed in pieces, satiated the dreadful hunger of the mice.

I deem this the less wonderful, because it is well known,
that in Asia, if a leopard bite any person, a party of mice
approach directly, to discharge their urine on the wounded
man ; and that a filthy deluge of their water attends his
death ; but if, by the care of servants driving them off, the
destruction can be avoided during nine days ; then medical
assistance, if called in, may be of service. My informant
had seen a person wounded after this manner, who, de-
spairing of safety on shore, proceeded to sea, and lay at an-
chor; when immediately more than a thousand mice swam
t)ut, wonderful to relate, in the rinds of pomegranates, the
insides of which they had eaten; but they were drowned
through the loud shouting of the sailors. " For the Creator
of all things has made nothing destitute of sagacity ; nor any
pest without its remedy."

During this emperor's reign flourished Marianus Scotus,*
first a monk of Fulda, afterwards a recluse at Mentz, who,
by renouncing the present life, secured the happiness of that
which is to come. During his long continued leisure, he
examined the writers on Chronology, and discovered the
disagreement of the cycles of Dionysius the Little with
the evangelical computation. Wherefore reckoning every
year from the beginning of the world, he added twenty-
two, which were wanting, to the above mentioned cycles ;
but he had few, or no followers of his opinion. Wherefore*^"^
I am often led to wonder, why such unhappiness should

♦ Marianus was bom in Ireland a.d. 1028, and was compiler of a
celebrated chronicle, which is the basis of Florence of Worcester. His
imagined correction of Dionysius is founded in error.

318 WILLIAM OF aiALMESBURY. [b. in.

attach to the learned of our time, that in so great a number
of scholars and students, pale with watching, scarcely one
can obtain unqualified commendation for knowledge. So
much does ancient custom please, and so little encourage-
ment, though deserved, is given to new discoveries, however
consistent with truth. All are anxious to grovel in the old
track, and everything modern is contemned; and therefore,
as patronage alone can foster genius, when that is withheld,
every exertion languishes.

But as I have mentioned the monastery of Fulda, I will
relate what a reverend man. Walker, prior of Malvern,
whose words if any disbelieve he offends against holiness,
told me had happened there. " Not more than fifteen years
have elapsed," said he, " since a contagious disease attacked
the abbat of that place, and afterwards destroyed many of
the monks. The survivors, at first, began each to fear for
himself, and to pray, and give alms more abundantly than
usual. In process of time, however, for such is the nature
of man, their fear gradually subsiding, they began to omit
them ; the cellarer more especially : who publicly and ab-
surdly exclaimed, that the stock of provision was not ade-
quate to such a consumption ; that he had lately hoped for
some reduction of expense from so many funerals, but that
his hopes were at an end, if the dead consumed what the
living could not. It happened on a certain night, when,
from some urgent business, he had deferred going to rest
for a long time, that having at length despatched every
concern, he went towards the dormitory. And now you
shall hear a strange circumstance: he saw in the chapter-
house, the abbat, and all who had died that year, sitting
in the order they had departed : when affrighted and en-
deavouring to escape, he was detained by force. Being
reproved and corrected, after the monastic manner, with a
scourge, he heard the abbat speak precisely to the following
effect : that it was foolish to look for advantage by another's
death, when all were subject to one common fate ; that it
was an impious thing, that a monk who had passed his
whole life in the service of the church should be grudged
the pittance of a single year after his death ; that he him-
self should die very shortly, but that whatever others might
do -for him, should redound only to the advantage of those

A.D. 1087.] CANTERBURY AND YORK. 319

whom he had defrauded ; that he might now go and ( orrect,
by his example, those whom he had corrupted by his ex-
pressions." He departed, and demonstrated that he had
seen nothing imaginary, as well by his recent stripes, as
by his death, which shortly followed.

In the meantime, while employed on other subjects, both
matter and incHnation have occurred for the relation of
what was determined in William's time, concerning the
controversy still existing between the archbishops of Can-
terbury and York. And that posterity may be fully in-
formed of this business, I will subjoin the opinions of the
ancient fathers.

Pope Gregory to Augtcstine, first archbishop of Canterbury.

"Let your jurisdiction not only extend over the bishops
you shall have ordained, or such as have been ordained by
the bisho|) of York, but also over all the priests of Britain,
by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Boniface to Justus, archbishop of Canterbury.

"Far be it from every Christian, that anything concern-
ing the city of Canterbury be diminished or changed, in
present or future times, which was appointed by our pre-
decessor pope Gregory, however human circumstances may
be changed: but more especially, by the authority of St.
Peter the prince of apostles, we command and ordain, that
the city of Canterbury shall ever hereafter be esteemed the
metropolitan see of all Britain ; and we decree and appoint,
immutably, that all the provinces of the kingdom of Eng-
land shall be subject to the metropolitan church of the afore-
said see. And if any one attempt to injure this church,
which is more especially under the power and protection
of the holy Roman church, or to lessen the jurisdiction con-
ceded to it, may God expunge him from the book of life ; and
let him know, that he is bound by the sentence of a curse."

Alexander to William, king of England.
" The cause of Alric, formerly called bishop of Chiches-
ter, we have entrusted to our brother bishop, Lanfranc, to
be by him diligently reconsidered and determined. We
have also commended to him the labour of deciding the
dispute which has arisen between the archbishop of York

320 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. in

and the bishop of Dorchester, on matters belonging to their
dioceses; strictly ordering him to examine this cause most
diligently and bring it to a just termination. Besides, we
have so fully committed to him the authority of our per-
sonal and pontifical power in considering and settling causes,
that whatever he shall, according to justice, have determined,
shall be regarded as firm and indissoluble hereafter, as though
it had been adjudged in our presence."

"In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ's incarnation 1072,
of the pontificate of pope Alexander the eleventh, and of
the reign of William, glorious king of England, and duke
of Normandy, the sixth ; by the command of the said pope
Alexander, and permission of the same king, in presence of
himself, his bishops, and abbats, the question was agitated
concerning the primacy which Lanfranc,* archbishop of
Canterbury, claimed in right of his church, over that of
York ; and concerning the ordination of certain bishops, of
which it was not clearly evident, to whom they especially
pertained ; and at length, after some time it was proved and
shown by the distinct authority of various writings, that the
church of York ought to be subject to that of Canterbury,
and to be obedient to the appointments of its archbishop, as
primate of all England, in all such matters as pertained to
the Christian religion. But the homage of the bishop of
Durham, that is of Lindisfarne, and of all the countries be-
yond the limits of the bishop of Lichfield, and the great
river Humber, to the farthest boundaries of Scotland, and
whatever on this side of the aforesaid river justly pertains
to the diocese of the church of York, the metropolitan of
Canterbury allowed for ever to belong to the archbishop of
York and his successors : in such sort, that if the archbishop
of Canterbury chose to call a council, wherever he deemed
fit, the archbishop of York was bound to be present at his
command, with all his suffragan bishops, and be obedient to
his canonical injunctions. And Lanfranc the archbishop
proved from the ancient custom of his predecessors, that
the archbishop of York was bound to make profession, even
with an oath, to the archbishop of Canterbury ; but through

* See the letteis which passed on this subject between Lanfranc and
Thomas archbishop of York in Lanfranci Opera, ed. J. A. Giles, 2 vols.
8vo, forming vols. 21 and 22 of Patres Ecclesifie Anglicin«.

A.D. 1072.1 CANTERBURY AND YORK. 321

regard to the king, he dispensed with the oath from Thomas,
archbishop of York; and received his written profession
only: but not forming a precedent for his successors who
might choose to exact the oath, together with the profession,
from Thomas's successors. If the archbishop of Canter-
bury should die, the archbishop of York shall come to
Canterbury; and, with the other bishops of the church
aforesaid, duly consecrate the person elect as his lawful
primate. But if the archbishop of York shall die, his suc-
cessor, accepting the gift of the archbishopric from the king,
shall come to Canterbury, or where the archbishop of Can-
terbury shall appoint, and shall from him receive canonical
ordination. To this ordinance consented the king aforesaid,
and the archbishops, Lanfranc of Canterbury, and Thomas
of York ; and Hubert subdeacon of the holy Roman church,
and legate of the aforesaid pope Alexander ; and the other
bishops and abbats present. This cause was first agitated at
the festival of Easter in the city of Winchester, in the royal
chapel, situated in the castle ; afterwards in the royal town
called Windsor, where it received its termination, in the
presence of the king, the bishops, and abbats of different
orders, who were assembled at the king's court on the fes-
tival of Pentecost.

" The signature of William the king : the signature of Ma-
tilda the queen.

" I Hubert, subdeacon of the holy Roman church, and legate
from pope Alexander, have signed.

" I Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, have signed.

" I Thomas, archbishop of York, have signed.

" I William, bishop of London, have assented.

" I Herman, bishop of Sherborne, have signed.

" I Wulstan, bishop of Worcester, have signed.

" I Walter, bishop of Hereford, have assented.

" I Giso, bishop of Wells, have assented.

" I Remigius, bishop of Dorchester, have signed.

" I Walkelin, bishop of Winchester, hare signed.

" I Herefast, bishop of Helmham, have signed.

" I Stigand, bishop of Chichester, have assentedr

" I Siward, bishop of Rochester, have assented.

" I Osberne, bishop of Exeter, have assented.

** I Odo, bishop of Bayeux and earl of Kent, have assentetl.

T

322 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. m.

" I Gosfrith, bishop of Coutances and one of the nobles of
England, have assented.

" I Scotland, abbat of St. Augustine's monastery, have as-
sented.

" I Thurstan, abbat of the monastery which is situated in
the isle of Ely, have assented.

" I Ailnoth, abbat of Glastonbury, have assented.

" I Elfwin, abbat of the monastery of Ramsey, have as-
sented.

" I Wulnoth, abbat of Chertsey, have assented.

" I Ailwyn, abbat of Evesham, have assented.

" I Frederic, abbat of St. Alban's, have assented.

" I Goffrid, abbat of the monastery of St. Peter, near Lon-
don, have assented.

" I Baldwin, abbat of St. Edmund's monastery, have as-
sented.

" I Turald, abbat of Burgh, have assented.

" I Adelelm, abbat of Abingdon, have assented.

" I Ruald, abbat of the New minster at Winchester, have
assented.

"It becomes every Christian to be subject to Christian
laws, and by no means to run counter to those things which
have been wholesomely enacted by the holy fathers. For
hence arise strifes, dissensions, envyings, contentioMS, and
other things, which plunge the lovers of them into eternal
punishment. And the more exalted the rank of any person
is, so much the more exact should be his obedience to divine
commands : wherefore I Thomas, now ordained metropolitan
bishop of the church of York, hearing and knowing your
authorities, make unlimited profession of canonical obedi-
ence to you, Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury, and your
successors ; and I promise to observe whatever shall be
canonically enjoined me, either by you or tliem. Of this
matter I was doubtful, while I was yet about to be ordained
by you : wherefore I promised obedience unconditionally to
you, but conditionally to your successors."

The archbishop of Canterbury, as I remember to have ob-
served in my first book, originally had subject to him, these
bishops : London, Winchester, Rochester, Sherborne, Wor-
cester, Hereford, Lichfield, Selsey, Leicester, Helmham,
Sidnacesto:, Dunwich ; in the time of king Edward the

A-D. 1072.] PRIVILEGES OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK. 323

Elder were added, Cornwall, Crediton, Wells in West Sax--
ony, and Dorcliester in Mercia, as I noticed in mj second book.

The archbishop of York had all the bishops on the farther
side of the Humber subject to him, as Ripon, Hexham, Lin-
disfame, Candida Casa, which is now called Whitherne ; and
all the bishops of Scotland and the Orkneys ; as the archbi-
shop of Canterbury had those of Ireland and Wales. The
bishoprics of Ripon and Hexham have long since perished
by hostile ravages ; Leicester, Sidnacester, and Dunwich, by
means that I cannot account for ; and, in the time of king
Edward the Simple, Cornwall and Crediton were united,
and the bishopric translated to Exeter. In king William's
time, at this council, it was determined that, according to the
decrees of the canons, the bishops should quit the villages^
and fix their abode in the cities of their dioceses ; Lichfield
therefore migrated to Chester, which was anciently called
the City of Legions ; Selsey to Chichester ; Helmham first to
Thetford, and now, by bishop Herbert, to Norwich; Sher-
borne to SaHsbury ; Dorchester to Lincoln. For Lindisfarne
had long before passed to Durham, and lately Wells to Bath.

In this assembly Lanfranc, who was yet uninstructed in
English matters, inquired of the elder bishops, what was the
order of sitting in council, as originally appointed. They,
alleging the difficulty of the question, deferred their answer
till the next day; when, carefully calling circumstances to
mind, they asserted that they had seen the arrangement as
follows : that the archbishop of Canterbury, presiding at the
council, should have, on the right hand, the archbishop of
York, and next him the bishop of Winchester ; and on his
left, the bishop of London. But should it ever happen,
through necessity, that the primate of Canterbury should be
absent, or should he be dead, the archbishop of York, presid-
ing at the council, should have the bishops of London on his
right hand, and of Winchester on his left; and the rest
should take their seats according to the time of their ordina-
tion.

At that time, too, the claim of the archbishop of York on
the see of Worcester and Dorchester was decided and set at
rest. For he said that they ought to be subject to his juris-
diction; which, after having pondered for some time in
secret, when he proceeded to Rome with Lanfranc to receive

Y 2

324 WILLIAM OF JIALMESBURT. [b- it.

their palls from the pope, he brought publicly before the
Roman court. Lanfranc, though for the most part unmoved
by injury, could not help betraying, by his countenance, his
emotion at such a wanton and unheard-of attack, though he
for some time refrained from speaking. But pope Alexan-
der, who felt much for Lanfranc's distress, for he had even
condescendingly risen from his seat when he approached,
professing that he paid him this mark of respect, not from
honour to the archbishop but regard to his learning, removed
from himself the unpleasant task of deciding, and referred the
adjudication of it to an English council. In consequence, as
I have related, the matter, after deep investigation, came to
this termination in the present council ; that, as these bishops
were on this side of the Humber, they should belong to
Canterbury, but all beyond that river to York.

Here the pious simplicity of St. Wulstan, bishop of Wor-
cester, and his noble confidence in God, demand praise and
approbation. For when called in question as well concern-
ing this business, as on his slender attainments in learning,
he had retired to consider more carefully what answer he
should make, his mind undisturbed by tumult : " Believe
me," said he, " we have not yet sung the service for the sixth
hour : let us sing the service therefore." And, on his com-
panions suggesting the necessity of first expediting the busi-
ness they had met upon ; that there was ample time for sing-
ing, and that the king and the nobility would laugh at them,
if they heard of it : " Truly," said he, " let us first do our
duty towards God, and afterwards settle the disputes of
men." Having sung the service, he directly proceeded
towards the council-chamber, without devising any subter-
fuge, or any attempt to disguise the truth. To his depend-
ents, who were desirous of withholding him, and who could
not be persuaded but their cause was in danger, he said,
" Know for certain, that I here visibly perceive those holy
archbishops, Dunstan of Canterbury, and Oswald of York ;
who, defending me this day with their prayers, will darken
the understandings of my gainsayers." Then giving his
benediction to a monk, a man of little eloquence, but some-
what acquainted with the Norman language, on sunmiing up
his cause, he obtained that he, who was before thought unwor-
thy of the mahagement of his own diocese, should be humbly

4. D. 1072.] PEEFACE TO BOOK IV. 325

entreated by the archbisliop of York, to condescend to visit
those parts of his province, which himself, through dread of
enemies, or ignorance of the language, had refrained from
approaching. But I will no longer torture the patience of
my readers, who perhaps do not regard this matter with
pleasure, as they are in expectation of the history of Wil-
liam's successors ; though, if I am not too partial to myself,
a variety of anecdote can be displeasing to no one, unless he
be morose enough to rival the superciliousness of Cato. But
whoever is so inclined, will find such other matters in the
fourth and fifth book, for here the third shall terminate.*

BOOK IV.

PREFACE.

I AM aware, that many persons think it unwise in me, tp
have written the history of the kings of my own time ;
alleging, that in such a work, truth is often made shipwreck
of, while falsehood meets with support : because to relate the
crimes of contemporaries, is attended with danger ; their good
actions with applause. Whence it arises, say they, that, as
all things have, now, a natural tendency to evil rather than
to good, the historian passes over any disgraceful transaction,
however obvious, through timidity ; and, for the sake of
approbation, feigns good qualities, when he cannot find them.
There are others, who, judging of us by their own indolence,
deem us unequal to so great a task, and brand our under-
taking with malignant censure. Wherefore, impelled bj
the reasoning of the one, or the contempt of the other, I had
long since voluntarily retired to leisure and to silence : but,
after indulging in them for a time, the accustomed inclina-
tion for study again strongly beset me ; as it was impossible
for me to be unoccupied, and I knew not how to give my-
self up to those forensic avocations, which are beneath the
notice of a literary character. To this was to be added the

* Two of the MSS., used by Mr. Hardy, place here the dedicatory
epistle of the author to Robert Earl of Gloucester, whi^h we have placed at
the commencement of the work.

526 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [b. rv. PRgr.

incitements of my friends, to whose suggestions, though oniy
implied, I ought to pay regard : and they indeed gently
urged me, already sufficiently disposed, to prosecute my un-
dertaking. Animated, therefore, by the advice of those
whom I love most affectionately, I advance to give them a
lasting pledge of friendship from the stores of my research.
Grateful also to those who are in fear for me, lest I should
either excite hatred, or disguise the truth, I will, by the
help of Christ, make such a return for their kindness, as
neither to become odious, nor a falsifier. For I will describe,
both what has been done well, or otherwise, in such wise,
and so safely steer between Scylla and Charybdis, that my
opinions shall not be concealed, though some matters may be
omitted in my history. Moreover, to those who undervalue
the labours of others, I make the same answer as St. Jerome
formerly did to his critics ; " Let them read if they like : if
not, let them cast it aside ; because I do not obtrude my
work on the fastidious, but I dedicate it, if any think it
worth their notice, to the studious ;" which even these men
will readily pronounce to be consonant to equity, unless they
are of the number of those, of whom it is said ; " Fools are
easy to confute, but not so easy to restrain." I will relate,
then, in this, the fourth book of my work, every thing which
may be said of William, son of William the Great, in such
manner that neither shall the truth suffer, nor shall the
dignity of the prince be obscured. Some matters also will
be inserted in these pages, which in his time were calami-
tous in this country, or glorious elsewhere, as far as my
knowledge extends. More especially, the pilgrimage of the
Christians to Jerusalem, which it will be proper to annex in
this place ; because an expedition, so famous in these times,
is well worth hearing, and will also be an incitement to
valour. Not indeed that I have any confidence these transac-
tions will be better treated by me than by others who have
written on the subject, but that, what many write, many may
read. Yet, lest so long a preface should disgust my reader,
I will immediately entet on my work.

AD. 1087.1 BIRTH OF ^VILLIAM H. 327

CHAP. I.

Of WilHam the Second, [a.d. 1087—1100.]

William then, the son of William, was bom in Normandy
many years before his father came to England ; and being
educated with extreme care by his parents, as he had natu-
rally an ambitious mind, he at length reached the summit of
dignity. He would no doubt have been a prince incom-
parable in our time, had not his father's greatness eclipsed
him ; and had not the fates cut short his years too early for
his maturer age to correct errors, contracted by the licen-
tiousness of power, and the impetuosity of youth. When
childhood was passed, he spent the period of youth in mili-
tary occupations ; in riding, throwing the dart, contending
with his elders in obedience, with those of his own age in
action : and he esteemed it injurious to his reputation, if he
was not the foremost to take arms in military commotions ;
unless he was the first to challenge the adversary, or when
challenged, to overcome him. To his father he was ever
dutiful ; always exerting himself in his sight in battle, ever
at his side in peace. His hopes gradually expanding, he
already aspired after the succession, especially on the
rejection of his elder brother, while the tender age of the
younger gave him no uneasiness. Thus, adopted as his suc-
cessor by his father during his last illness, he set out to take
possession of the kingdom ere the king had breathed his last :
where being gladly received by the people, and obtaining the
keys of the treasury, he by these means subjected all Eng-
land to his will. Archbishop Lanfranc, the grand mover of
every thing, had educated him, and made him a knight,*
and now he favoured his pretensions to the throne ; by his
authority and assistance William was crowned on the day of
the saints Cosmas and Damian,f and passed the remainder of
the winter quietly and with general favour.

At the expiration of this period, in the beginning of spring,
his first contention was with his uncle, Odo, bishop of

♦ *' At this period the custom of receiving knighthood from the hands
of bishops or abbata yet obtained. There is a law of Henry I., prohibiting
abbats from making knights " — Hardy.

+ The 27th of September.

c

328 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. .t. c, 1.

Bayeux. For when Odo, on his release from confinement,
as I have related, had firmly established his nephew, Robert,
in the duchy of Normandy, he came to England, and received
from the king the earldom of Kent. But when he saw every
thing in the kingdom managed, not at his own pleasure, as
formerly, for the administration of public affairs was now
committed to William, bishop of Durham, he was moved
with envy, and having revolted from the king, he tainted
many others by insinuating, that the kingdom belonged to
Robert, who was of gentler disposition, and whose youthful
follies had been corrected by many adversities ; that William,
delicately brought up, and overbearing from that ferocity of
mind which was manifest in his countenance, would dare
every thing, in defiance of right and equity : that it must
soon come to pass, that they would lose the honours they
had already obtained with so much difficulty : that nothing
was gained by the father's death, if those whom he had cast
into prison, were to be killed by the son. To this effect he
used, at first, secretly to mutter, together with Roger Mont-
gomery, Gosfrith, bishop of Coutances, with his nephew
Robert earl of Northumberland, and others ; afterwards they
were more open in their clamours, repeating and dissemi-
nating them by letters and by emissaries. Moreover, even
William, bishop of Durham, the confidential minister of the
king, had joined in their treachery. This was matter of
great concern to William, it is said ; because, together with
the breach of friendship, he was disappointed of the resources
of the distant provinces. Odo now carried off" booty of every
kind to Rochester, plundering the king's revenues in Kent,
and especially the lands of the archbishop ; breathing eternal
hatred against him, because, he said, it was by his advice,
that his brother had cast him into chains. Nor was this
assertion false : for when William the elder formerly com-
plained to Lanfranc, that he was deserted by his brother :
" Seize, and cast him into chains," sajd he. " What !" re-
plied the king, " he is a clergyman ! "/Then the archbishop
with playful archness, as Persius says7"*n)alancing the objec-
tion with nice antithesis,"* rejoined, " you will not seize the
bishop of Bayeuxj but confine the earl of Kent^

♦ Persius, Sat i. 85.

A.D. 1088.1 CONSPIRACT OF THE NOBLES. 329

Bishop Gosfrith with his nephew, depopulating Bath, and
Berkeley, and part of the county of Wilts, treasured up
their spoils at Bristol. Roger Montgomery sending out hia
army with the Welsh from Shrewsbury, plundered Worces-
tershire. They had now hostilely approached Worcester,
when the king's soldiers who guarded it, relying on the bless-
ing of bishop Wulstan, to whom the custody of the castle
was committed, though few in number, dispersed this multi-
tude ; and after wounding and killing many, took some of
them prisoners. Moreover, Roger Bigod at Norwich, and
Hugo f'e Grentmeisnil at Leicester, each with their party,
were plundering in their respective neighbourhoods. In
vain, however, did the whole power of revolt rage against a
man, who was deficient neither in prudence nor in good for-
tune. For seeing almost all the Normans leagued in one
furious conspiracy, he sent alluring letters, summoning to jj'^
him such brave and honest English as yet remained ; and [';
complaining to them on the subject of his wrongs, he bound M
them to his party, by promising them wholesome laws, a *
diminution of tribute, and free leave to hunt.* With equal
cunning he circumvented Roger Montgomery, when riding
with him, with dissembled perfidy ; for taking him aside, he
loaded him with odium, saying, that he would willingly retire
from the government, if it seemed meet to him and to the
rest whom his father had left as his guardians ; that he could
not understand, why they were so outrageous ; if they wanted
money, they might have what they pleased ; if an increase
of their estates, they might have that also ; in short, they
might have whatever they chose ; only let them be careful
that the judgment of his father was not called in question :
for, if they thought it ought to be disregarded in the instance
of himself, it might be a bad example for them : for the
same person made him king, who had made them earls.
Excited by these words and promises, the earl, who, next to
Odo, had been the chief leader of the faction, was the first
to desert. Proceeding, therefore, immediately against the
rebels, he laid siege to the castles of his uncle at Tunbridge
and at Pevensey, and seizing him in the latter compelled
him to swear, as he dictated, that he would depart England,
and deliver up Rochester. To fulfil this promise he sent him
* On their own lands, it should seem fiom Sax. Chron., p. 465.

330 WITXIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. it. c 1

forward with a party he could rely on, intending to follow at
his leisure. At that time almost all the young nobility of Eng-
land and Normandy were at Rochester : three sons of earl
Roger, Eustace the younger of Boulogne, and many others
not deserving notice. The royal party, accompanying the
bishop, were few and unarmed, for who could fear treachery
where he was present ? and going round the walls, they
called the townsmen to open the gates ; for so the bishop in
person, and the absent king commanded. Observing from
the wall, however, that the countenance of the bishop ill
agreed with the language of the speakers, they suddenly
sallied out, took horse in an instant, and carried off, together
with the bishop, the whole party, captive. The report of
this transaction quickly reached the king. Fierce from the
injury, and smothering his indignation, he calls together his
faithful English subjects, and orders them to summon all
their countrymen to the siege, unless any wished to be
branded with the name of "Nidering,"* which implies
" abandoned." The English who thought nothing more dis-
graceful than to be stigmatised by such an appellatioii, flocked
in troops to the king, and rendered his army invincible.
Nor could the townsmen longer delay submission ; expe-
riencing, that a party, however noble, or however numer-
ous, could avail nothing against the king of England. Odo,
now taken a second time, abjured England for ever : the
bishop of Durham of his own accord retired beyond sea, the
king allowing him to escape uninjured out of regard to his
former friendship : the rest were all admitted to fealty.
During the interval of this siege, some of the king's fleet de-
stroyed a party which the earl of Normandy had sent to
assist the traitors, partly by slaughter, and partly by ship-
wreck ; the remainder, intent on escaping, endeavoured to
make sail ; but being soon after disappointed by its falling
calm, they became matter for laughter to our people, but
their own destruction ; for, that they might not be taken
alive, they leaped from their vessels into the sea.

• Nidering is supposed by Somner to denote such as were infamous
enough to rifle a dead body. Gavelk. 65. Lye renders it, nequam, exlex,
— infamous, outlaw. MS. Nithing. Spelman derives it from nidus : but
there is no authority f( r either interpretation ; and in such cases it is safen
to confess ignorance than to mislead the reader by fanciful etymologies.

A. D. 1088.] TREATY WITH ROBERT. 331

The next year, as the sense of injuries ever grows keener
from reconsideration, the king began carefully to examine,
how he might revenge his griefs, and repay his brother for
this insult. In consequence, by his practices, he bribed the
garrison, and obtained possession of the castle of St. Yallery,
the adjoining port, and the town which is called Albemarle.
The earl had not the courage to resist, but, by means of am-
bassadors, acquainted his lord, the king of France, with the
violence of his brother, and begged his assistance. The
French king, inactive, and surfeited with daily gluttony,
came hiccupping, through repletion, to the war : but, as he
was making great professions, the money of the king of Eng-
land met him by the way ; with which his resolution being
borne down, he unbuckled his armour, and went back to his
gormandizing. In this manner, Normandy, for a long time,
groaned under intestine war, sometimes one party, sometimes
the other being victorious : the nobility, men of fickle temper,
and faithful to neither brother, exciting their mutual fury.
A few, better advised, attentive to their own advantage, for
they had possessions in both countries, were mediators of a
peace : the basis of which was, that the king should get pos-
session of Maine for the earl ; and the earl should cede to
the king those castles which he already held, and the monas-
tery of Feschamp. The treaty was ratified and confirmed by
the oath of the nobles on both sides.

Not long after the king went abroad to execute these con-
ditions. Each leader made great efforts to invade Maine ;
but when they had completed their preparations, and were
just ready to proceed, an obstacle arose, through the spirit ol
Henry, the younger brother, loudly remonstrating against
their covetousness, which had shared their paternal posses-
sions between themselves, and blushed not at having left him
almost destitute. In consequence he took possession of Mount
St. Michael, and harassed, with constant sallies, the besieg-
ing forces of his brothers. During this siege, a noble speci-
men of disposition was exhibited, both by the king and by
the earl : of compassion in the one, and of magnanimity in
the other. I shall subjoin these instances, for the informa-
tion of my readers.

The king, going out of his tent, and observing the enemy
at a distance, proudly prancing, rushed unattended against a

332 WnJJAM OF MAXMESBURY. [b. it. c I.

large party ; spurred on by the impetuosity of his courage,
and at the same time confident that none would dare resist
him. Presently his horse, which he had that day purchased
for fifteen marks of silver, being killed under him, he was
thrown down, and for a long time dragged by his foot ; the
strength of his mail, however, prevented his being hurt.
The soldier who had unhorsed him, was at this instant draw-
ing liis sword to strike him, when, terrified at the extremity
of his danger, he cried out, " Hold, rascal, I am the king of
England." The whole troop trembled at the well-known
voice of the prostrate monarch, and immediately raised him
respectfully from the ground, and brought him another horse.
Leaping into the saddle without waiting assistance, and dart-
ing a keen look on the by-standers : " Who unhorsed me?"
said he. While the rest were silent through fear, the bold
perpetrator of the deed readily defended himself, saying,
" 'Twas I, who took you, not for a king, but for a soldier."
The king, soothed, and regaining the serenity of his counte-
nance, exclaimed, "By the crucifix* at Lucca," for such
was his oath, " henceforth thou shalt be mine, and, placed
on my roll, shalt receive the recompence of this gallant ser-
vice." Nobly done, magnanimous king ! what encomium
shall I pass on this speech ! Equal to Alexander the Great
in glory ; who, through admiration of his courage, preserved,
unhurt, a Persian soldier, who had attempted to strike him
from behind, but was frustrated in his design by the treachery
of his sword.

But now to relate the compassion of the earl. When the
blockade had so far proceeded that the besieged were in want
of water, Henry sent messengers to Robert, to expostulate
with him on the thirst he endured, and to represent, that it
was impious to deprive him of water, the common right of
mankind : let him try his courage another way if he chose ;
and not employ the violence of the elements, but the valour
of a soldier. On which, wrought upon by the natural ten-
derness of his disposition, he ordered his party to be more
remiss in their duty where they kept guard, that his thirsty

* This crucifix was very celebrated ; it being pretended that it was the
work of Nicodemus. " See further on this subject in the Rev. J. E,
Tyler's inter jsting volume, entitled, * Oaths, their origin, nature, and his-
tory.' London: 8vo, pp. 289— 296."— Hardy.

A.D. 1091.1 EXPEDITION AGAINST SCOTLAND. 3-33

brother might not be deprived of water. This circumstance,
when related to the king, who was always inclined to warmth
of temper, made him say to the earl, " You well know how
to carry on war indeed, who allow your enemies plenty of
water : and pray, how shall we subdue them, if we indulge
them in food and drink?" But he smiling, uttered this kind
and truly laudable expression, " Oh, shame I should I suffer
my brother to die with thirst ? and where shall we find
another, if we lose him?" On this the king, deriding the
mild temper of the man, put an end to the war without ac-
complishing his design ; and as the commotions of the Scots
and Welsh required his presence, he retired with both his
brothers to his kingdom.

Immediately he led an expedition, first against the Welsh,
and then against the Scots, in which he performed nothing
worthy of his greatness ; but lost many of his soldiers, and
had lus sumpter-horses intercepted. And, not only at that
time, but frequently, in Wales, was fortune unfavourable to
him ; which may seem strange to any one, when the chance
of war was generally on his side in other places. But it
appears to me that the unevenness of the country, and the
badness of the weather, as it assisted their rebellion, was
also an impediment to his valour. But king Henry, who
now reigns, a man of excellent talents, discovered a mode of
counteracting their designs: which was, by stationing in
their country the Flemings, to be a barrier to them, and con-
stantly keep them within bounds. At that time, by the
industry of earl Robert, who had long since gained the good
graces of the Scot, the basis of a peace was laid between
Malcolm and William. But various grounds of difference
still existing on both sides, and justice wavering through
their mutual animosity, Malcolm came of his own accord to
Gloucester, a hearty solicitor for peace, so that it were on
equitable conditions. He obtained, however, nothing more
than permission to return uninjured to his kingdom: for the
king disdained to take a man by subttety, whom he might
have conquered by arms. But the next winter he was dis-
patched by the party of Robert, earl of Northumberland,
rather through stratagem than force. When his wife, Mar-
garet, a woman distinguished for alms-giving and for chas-
tity, heard of his death, disgusted with the continuance of

334 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUET. Lb. iv. c. 1.

life, she earnestly entreated of God to die. They were both
remarkable for piety, but the queen more especially. For
during her whole life, wherever she might be, she had
twenty-four poor persons whom she supplied with meat and
clothing. In Lent, waiting for the singing of the priests,
she used to watch all night in the church, herself assisting at
triple matins, of the Trinity, of the Cross, of St. Mary, and
afterwards repeating the Psalter ; with tears bedewing her
garments, and agitating her breast. Departing from the
church, she used to feed the poor ; first three, then nine, then
twenty-four, at last three hundred : herself standing by with
the king, and pouring water on their hands. Edgar his son,
when expelled by his uncle, was restored by William ; as-
suredly with a noble compassion, and worthy of so great a
personage, who, forgetting the injuries of the father, replaced
the son, when suppliant, on his throne.

Greatness of soul was pre-eminent in the king, which, in
process of time, he obscured by excessive severity; vices,
indeed, in place of virtues, so insensibly crept into his bosom,
that he could not distinguish them. The world doubted, for
a long time, whither he would incline; what tendency his
disposition would take. At first, as long as archbishop Lan-
franc survived, he abstained from every crime; so that it
might be hoped, he would be the very mirror of kings.
After his death, for a time, he showed himself so variable,
that the balance hung even betwixt vices and virtues. At
last, however, in his latter years, the desire after good grew
cold, and the crop of evil increased to ripeness : his liberality
became prodigaUty; his magnanimity pride; his austerity
cruelty. I may be allowed, with permission of the royal
majesty, not to conceal the truth ; for he feared God but
little, man not at all. If any one shall say this is undiscern-
ing, he will not be wrong ; because wise men should observe
this rule, " God ought to be feared at all times ; man, ac-
cording to circumstances." He was, when abroad, and in
public assemblies, of supercilious look, darting his threaten-
ing eye on the by-stander; and with assumed severity and
ferocious voice, assailing such as conversed with him. From
apprehension of poverty, and of the treachery of others, as
may be conjectured, he was too much given to lucre, and to
cruelty. At home and at table, with his intimate com"

A.D.10;3.] CHARACTER OF WILLIAM H. 335

panions, he gave loose to levity and to mirth. He was a
most facetious railer at any thing he had himself done amiss,
in order that he might thus do away obloquy, and make it
matter of jest. But I shall dilate somewhat on that libe-
rality, in which he deceived himself; and afterwards on his
other propensities, that I may manifest what great vices
sprang up in him under the semblance of virtues.

For, in fact, there are two kinds of givers: the one is
denominated prodigal, the other liberal. The prodigal are
such as lavish their money on those things, of which they
will leave either a transient, or perhaps no memory in this
world; neither will they gain mercy by them from God.
The liberal, are those who redeem the captive from the
plunderer, assist the poor, or discharge the debts of their
friends. We must give, therrfore, but with discrimination
and moderation; for many persons have exhausted their
patrimony by giving inconsiderately. " For what can be
more silly, than to take pains to be no longer able to do that
which you do with pleasure ?"* Some, therefore, when they
have nothing to give turn to rapine, and get more hatred
from those from whom they take, than good will from those
to whom they give. We lament that thus it happened to
this king; for, when in the very beginning of his reign,
through fear of tumults, he had assembled soldiers, and
denied them nothing, promising still greater remuneration
hereafter; the consequence was, that as he had soon ex-
hausted his father's treasures, and had then but moderate
revenues, his substance failed, though the spirit of giving
remained, which, by habit, had almost become nature. He
was a man who knew not how to take off from the price of
any thing, or to judge of the value of goods ; but the trader
might sell him his commodity at whatever rate, or the soldier
demand any pay he pleased. He was anxious that the cost
of his clothes should be extravagant, and angry if they were
purchased at a low price. One morning, indeed, while put-
ting on his new boots, he asked his chamberlain what they
cost; and when he replied, " Three shillings," indignantly
and in a rage he cried out, " You son of a whore, how long
has the king worn boots of so paltry a price ? go, and bring

♦ Cicero de Officiis, ii. 15, Much of the argument is borrowed from the
same source.

i

336 WILLIAM a'^' MAiMESBURT. [a it. c. 1.

me a pair worth a mark of silver." He went, and bringing
him a much cheaper pair, told him, falsely, that they cost as
much as he had ordered : " Aye," said the king, " these are
suitable to royal majesty." Thus his chamberlain used to
charge him what he pleased for his clothes; acquiring by
these means many things for his own advantage.

The fame of his generosity, therefore, pervaded all the
West, and reached even to the East. Military men came to
him out of every province on this side of the mountains, whom
he rewarded most profusely. In consequence, when he had
no longer aught to bestow, poor and exhausted, he turned
his thoughts to rapine. The rapacity of his disposition was
seconded by Ralph, the inciter of his covetousness ; a clergy-
man of the lowest origin, but raised to eminence by his wit
and subtilty. K at any time a royal edict issued, that Eng-
land should pay a certain tribute, it was doubled by this
plunderer of the rich, this exterminator of the poor, this con-
fiscator of other men's inheritance. He was an invincible
pleader, as unrestrained in his words as in his actions ; and
equally furious against the meek or the turbulent. Where-
fore some people used to laugh, * and say, that he was the
only man who knew how to employ his talents in this way,
and cared for no one's hatred, so that he could please his
master. At this person's suggestion, the sacred honours of
the church, as the pastors died, were exposed to sale: for
whenever the death of any bishop or abbat was announced,
directly one of the king's clerks was admitted, who made an
inventory of every thing, and carried all future rents into
the royal exchequer. In the meantime some person was
sought out fit to supply the place of the deceased ; not from
proof of morals, but of money ; and, at last, if I may so say,
the empty honour was conferred, and even that purchased,
at a great price. These things appeared the more disgrace-
ful, because, in his father's time, after the decease of a bishop
or abbat, all rents were reserved entire, to be given up to the
succeeding pastor ; and persons truly meritorious, on account
of their religion, were elected. But in the lapse of a very
few years, every thing was changed. There was no man
rich except the money-changer; no clerk, unless he was a
lawyer; no priest, unless (to use a word which is hardly
• Some read, " The king used to laugh." &c.

A.D. 1093.] CHARACTER OF WILLIAM H. 337

Latin*) he was a farmer. Men of the meanest condition, or
guilty of whatever crime, were listened to, if they could sug-
gest any thing likely to be advantageous to the king: the
halter was loosened from the robber's neck, if he could pro-
mise any emolument to the sovereign. All military discipline
being relaxed, the courtiers preyed upon the property of the
country people, and consumed their substance, taking the
very meat from the mouths of these wretched creatures, f
Then was there flowing hair and extravagant dress; and
then was invented the fashion of shoes | with curved points ;
then the model for young men was to rival women in deli-
cacy of person, to mince their gait, to walk with loose gesture,
and half naked. Enervated and effeminate, they unwillingly
remained what nature had made them; the assailers of
others' chastity, prodigal of their own. Troops of pathics,
and droves of harlots, followed the court ; so that it was said,
with justice, by a wise man, that England would be fortunate
if Henry could reign ; § led to such an opinion, because he
abhorred obscenity from his youth.

Here, were it necessary, I could add, that archbishop
Anselm attempted to correct these abuses ; but failing of the
co-operation of his suffragans, he voluntarily quitted the
kingdom, yielding to the depravity of the times. Anselm,
than whom none ever was more tenacious of right ; none in
the present time so thoroughly learned ; none so completely

* This is unintelligible to the English reader. The author uses the
word " firmarius," which certainly would not have conveyed the idea of a
" farmer" to the mind of either Cicero or Horace.

+ Those who followed the covirt, being imder no kind of control, were
in the habit of plundering and devastating the coimtry wherever they went.
When they were unable to consume whatever they foimd in their lodgings,
they would sell it to the best bidder, or destroy it with fire ; or if it were
liquor, after washing their horses' legs with a part, they let the remainder
run. " As to their cruelty towards their hosts, or their unseemly conduct
towards their wives and daughters, it is shameful even to remember." —
Edmer. Hist. Nov. p. 94.

J These shoes, which gave occasion for various ordinances for their regu-
lation or abolition, during several successive centuries, are said to have
owed their invention to Fiilk, earl of Anjou, in order to hide his ill-formed
feet. Orderic. Vi talis, p. 682: who also observes, that the first improver,
by qdding the long curved termination, was a fellow (quidam nebulo) in
(he court of William Rufus, named Robert.

$ Others read, " The palace of the king was not the abode of majesty,
but the stews of pathics."

338 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Lb. iv. c. 1.

spiritual ; the father of his country, the mirror of the world :
he, when just about to set sail, after waiting in port for a
wind, was rifled, as though he had been a public robber ; all
his bags and packages being brought out and ransacked. Of
thia man's injuries I could speak farther, had the sun wit-
nessed any thing more unjust than this single transaction, or
were it not necessary to omit a relation, which has been
anticipated by the eloquence of the very reverend Edmer.*

Hence may be perceived how fierce a flame of evil burst
forth from what the king conceived to be liberality. In
repressing which as he did not manifest so much diligence
as negligence, he incurred a degree of infamy, not only
great, but scarcely to be wiped out. I think undeservedly,
however ; because he never could have exposed himself to
such disgrace, had he only recollected the dignity of his
station. I pass over, therefore, these matters slightly, and
hasten in my composition, because I blush to relate the
crimes of so great a king ; rather giving my attention to
refute and extenuate them.

The Jews in his reign gave proofs of their insolence
towards God. At one time, at Rouen, they endeavoured to
prevail, by means of presents, on some converted Jews, to
return to Judaism ; f at another, at London, entering into
controversy with our bishops ; because the king, in jest, as I
suppose, had said, that if they mastered the Christians in

* Edmer, besides constant mention of Anselm in his Historia Novorum,
wrote his life also, in a separate form.

f A Jewish youth imagined that St. Stephen had appeared to him, and
commanded him to be baptized : this he obeyed. His father immediately
flew to the king, earnestly entreating an order for his son to be restored to
the faith of his ancestors. The king not discovering any advantage as likely
to accrue to himself, remained silent : on this the Jew offers him sixty
marks, on condition that he would restore his son to Judaism. William
then orders the youth to be brought before him ; relates his father's com-
plaint, and commands him to renounce his baptism. The lad, astonished,
replies, " Your majesty is joking surely." " I joke with thee," exclaims
the king, " thou son of ordvire ! begone, and obey my commands instantly,
or by the cross at Lucca I will have your eyes torn out." The young man
remaining inflexible, he drove him from his presence. The father was
then ordered before the king, who desired him to pay down the money he
had promised ; but, on the Jew's remonstrating that he had not reconverted
his son, and the king's declaring that his labour was not to go xmrewarded,
it was agreed that he should receive half the sum. Edmer, Hist. Novor.
o. 47.

4.D 1096.J ROBERT PAWNS NORMANDY. 389

open argument, he would become one of their sect. The
question therefore was agitated with much apprehension on
the part of the bishops and clergj, fearful, through pious
anxiety, for the Christian faith. From this contest, however,
the Jews reaped nothing but confusion : though they used
repeatedly to boast that they were vanquished, not by
argument, but by power.

In later times, that is, about the ninth year of his reign,
Robert, earl of Normandy, at the admonition of pope Urban,
as will be related hereafter, took the resolution of going to
Jerusalem, and pawned Normandy to his brother, for the
sum of ten thousand marks. In consequence, an edict for
an intolerable tax was circulated throughout England. On
this the bishops and abbats, in great numbers, went to court,
to complain of the injury ; observing tliat they could not
raise so great an impost, unless they drove away their
wretched husbandmen altogether. To this the courtiers,
with angry countenance, as usual, replied, " Have you not
shrines adorned with gold and silver, full of dead men's
bones ? " deigning the petitioners no other answer. In
consequence, perceiving the drift of the reply, they took
off the gold from the shrines of their saints ; robbed their
crucifixes ; melted their chalices ; not for the service of the
poor, but of the king's exchequer. For almost every thing,
which the holy parsimony of their ancestors had saved, was
consumed by the rapacity of these freebooters.

Just so, too, were their proceedings against their vassals ;
first taking their money, then their land : neither the poor
man's poverty, nor the rich man's abundance, protecting him.
He so restricted the right of hunting, which he had formerly
allowed, that it became a capital offence to take a stag. This
extreme severity, which was tempered by no affability, was
the cause of many conspiracies, among the nobility, against
his safety : one of whom, Robert de Mowbray earl of
Northumberland, in consequence of very high words between
him and the king, retired to his province, with the intention
of making powerful efforts against his lord ; but William
pursuing him, he was taken, and doomed to perpetual
captivity. Another, William de Hou, being accused of
treachery towards the king, challenged his accuser to single
combat ; but being unable to iustify himself in the duel, he

z2

340 WILLIAM OP MALMESBTJKr. [a it. c. 1.

was deprived of his sight, and of his manhood. The same
accusation involved many innocent and honourable men ;
among whom was William de Aldrey, a man of handsome
person, who had stood godfather* with the king. Being
sentenced to be hanged", he made his confession to Osmund
bishop of Salisbury, and was scourged at every church of
the town. Parting his garments to the poor, he went naked
to the gallows, often making the blood gush from his delicate
flesh by falling on his knees upon the stones. He satisfied
the minds of the bishop, and of the people who followed
him to the place of punishment, by exclaiming, " God help
my soul, and deliver it from evil, as I am free from the
charge, of which I am accused : the sentence, indeed, passed
upon me will not be revoked, but I wish all men to be
certified of my innocence." The bishop then, commending
his soul to heaven, and sprinkling him with holy water,
departed. At his execution, he manifested an admirable
degree of courage ; neither uttering a groan before, nor
even a sigh, at the moment of his death.

But still there are some proofs of noble magnanimity in
the king, the knowledge of which, I will not deny posterity.
As he was once engaged in hunting in a certain forest, a
foreign messenger acquainted him that the city of Mans,
which he had lately added to his dominions on the departure
of his brother, was besieged. Unprepared as he was, he
turned his horse instantly, and shaped his journey to the
sea. When his nobles reminded him, that it would be
necessary to call out his troops, and put them in array ; " I
shall see," said he, " who will follow me : do you think I
shall not have people enough? If I know the temper of
the young men of my kingdom, they will even brave
shipwreck to come to me." In this manner he arrived,
almost unattended, at the sea-coast. The sky at that time
was overcast, the wind contrary, and a tempest swept the
surface of the deep. When he determined to embark directly,
the mariners besought him, to wait till the storm should
subside, and the wind be favourable. " Why," said William,
" I have never heard of a king perishing by shipwreck : no,
weigh anchor immediately, and you shall see the elements
conspire to obey me." When the report of his having
• " Compater " sometimes means a firiend or companion.

A.D. iofl&] William's magnanimitt. 34!

crossed the sea reached the besiegers, they hastily retreated.
One Helias, the author of the commotion, • was taken ; to
whom, when brought before him, the king said jocularly,
" I have you, master." But he, whose haughty spirit, even
in such threatening danger, knew not how to be prudent, or
to speak submissively, replied, "You have taken me by
chance ; if I could escape, I know what I would do." At
this William, almost beside himself with rage, and seizing
Helias, exclaimed, " You scoundrel ! and what would you
do ? Begone, depart, fly : I give you leave to do whatever
you can ; and by the crucifix at Lucca, if you should
conquer me, I will ask no return for this favour." Nor did
he falsify his word, but immediately suffered him to escape ;
rather admiring than following the fugitive. Who could
believe this of an unlettered man ? And perhaps there may
be some person, who, from reading Lucan, may falsely
suppose, that William borrowed these examples from Julius
Csesar ; * but he had neither inclination, nor leisure to
attend to learning ; it was rather the innate warmth of his
temper, and his conscious valour which prompted him to
such expressions. And indeed, if our religion would allow
it, as the soul of Euphorbus was formerly said to have
passed into Pythagoras of Samos, so might it equally be
asserted, that the soul of Julius Caesar had migrated into
king William.

He began and completed one very noble edifice, the pa-
lace "f in London ; sparing no expense to manifest the great-
ness of his liberality. His disposition therefore the reader
will be able to discover from the circumstances we have
enumerated.

Should any one be desirous, however, to know the make
of his person, he is to understand, that he was well set ; his
complexion florid, his hair yellow ; of open countenance ;
different-coloured eyes, varying with certain glittering specks ;
of astonishing strength, though not very tall, and his belly

* Pharsalia, lib. ii. 515— v. 580.

+ " It has been inferred from this passage, that Malmesbury states the
tower of London was built by William Rufus. There appears, however,
little doubt that the principal building, now called the White Tower, was
commenced by the Conqueror, and finished by Rufus, under the superin-
tendence of Gimdulph, bishop of Rochester." — Hardy.

342 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. [b. rv. c. 1.

rather projecting ; of no eloquence, but remarkable for a
hesitation of speech, especially when angry. Many sudden
and sorrowful accidents happened in his time, which I shall
arrange singly, according to the years of his reign ; chiefly
vouching for their truth on the credit of the Chronicles.

In the second year of his reign, on the third before the
ides of August, a great earthquake terrified all England with
a horrid spectacle ; for all the buildings were lifted up, and
then again settled as before. A scarcity of every kind of
produce followed ; the corn ripened so slowly, that the har-
vest was scarcely housed before the feast of St. Andrew.

In his fburth year was a tempest of lightning, and a whirl-
wind : finally, on the ides of October, at Winchcombe, a
stroke of lightning beat against the side of the tower with
such force, that, shattering the wall where it joined to the
roof, it opened a place wide enough to admit a man ; enter-
ing there, it struck a very large beam, and scattered frag-
ments of it over the whole church ; moreover it cast down
the head of the crucifix, with the right leg, and the image oi
St. Mary. A stench so noisome followed, as to be insufier-
able to human nostrils. At length, the monks, with aus-
picious boldness, entering, defeated the contrivances of the
devil, by the sprinkling of holy water. But what could this
mean ? such a thing was unknown to every previous age.
A tempest of contending winds, from the south-east, on the
sixteenth before the kalends of November, destroyed more
than six hundred houses in London. Churches were heaped
on houses, and walls on partitions. The tempest proceeding
yet farther, carried off altogether the roof of the church of
St. Mary le Bow, and killed two men. Rafters and beams
were whirled through the air, an object of surprise to such
as contemplated them from a distance ; of alarm, to those
who stood nigh, lest they should be crushed by them. For
four rafters, six and twenty feet long, were driven with such
violence into the ground, that scarcely four feet of them were
visible. It was curious to see how they had perforated the
solidity of the public street, maintaining there the same posi-
tion which they had occupied in the roof from the hand of
the workman, until, on account of their inconvenience to
passengers, they were cut off level with the ground, as they
could not be otherwise removed.

A.D. 1092—1100.] ADVERSE EVENTS. 343

In his fifth year, a similar thunder-storm at Salisbury en-
tirely destroyed the roof of the church-tower, and much
injured the wall, only five days after Osmund, the bishop of
famed memory, had consecrated it.

In his sixth year there was such a deluge from rain, and
such incessant showers as none had ever remembered.
Afterwards, on the approach of winter, the rivers were so
frozen, that they bore horsemen and waggons ; and soon
after, when the frost broke, the bridges were destroyed by
the drifting of the ice.

In his seventh year, on account of the heavy tribute which
the king, while in Normandy, had levied, agriculture failed ;
of which failure the immediate consequence was a famine.
This also gaining ground a mortality ensued, so general, that
the dying wanted attendance, and the dead, burial. At that
time, too, the Welsh, fiercely raging against the Normans,
and depopulating the county of Chester and part of Shrop-
shire, obtained Anglesey by force of arms.

In his tenth year, on the kalends of October, a comet
appeared for fifteen days, turning its larger train to the east,
and the smaller to the south-east. Other stars also appeared,
darting, as it were, at each other. This was the year in
which Anselm, that light of England, voluntarily escaping
from the darkness of error, went to Rome.

In his eleventh year, Magnus, king of Norway, with Ha-
rold, son of Harold, formerly king of England, subdued the
Orkney, Mevanian, and other circumjacent isles ; and was
now obstinately bent against England from Anglesey. But
Hugh, earl of Chester, and Hugh, earl of Shrewsbury, op-
posed him ; and ere he could gain the continent, forced him
to retire. Here fell Hugh of Shrewsbury, being struck from
a distance with a fatal arrow.

In his twelfth year an excessive tide flowed up the Thames,
and overwhelmed many villages, with their inhabitants.

In his thirteenth year, which was the last of his life, there
were many adverse events ; but the most dreadful circum-
stance was that the devil visibly appeared to men in woods
and secret places, and spoke to them as they passed by.
Mox'eover in the county of Berks, at the village of Finch-
hampstead, a fountain so plentifully flowed with blood for
fifteen whole days, that it discoloured a neighbouring pool.

344 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [B-rr-cl.

The king heard of it and laughed ; neither did he care for
his own dreams, nor for what others saw concerning him.

They relate many visions and predictions of his death,
three of which, sanctioned by the testimony of credible au
thors, I shall communicate to my readers. Edmer, the his-
torian of our times, noted for his veracity, says that Anselm,
the noble exile, with whom all religion was also banished,
came to Marcigny that he might communicate his sufferings
to Hugo, abbat of Clugny. There, when the conversation
turned upon king William, the abbat aforesaid observed,
" Last night that king was brought before God ; and by a
deliberate judgment, incurred the sorrowful sentence of
damnation." How he came to know this he neither explained
at the time, nor did any of his hearers ask : nevertheless, out
of respect to his piety, not a doubt of the truth of his words
remained on the minds of any present. Hugh led such a
life, and had such a character, that all regarded his discourse
and venerated his advice, as though an oracle from heaven had
spoken. And soon after, the king being slain as we shall
relate, there came a messenger to entreat the archbishop to
resume his see.

The day before the king died, he dreamed that he was let
blood by a surgeon ; and that the stream, reaching to hea-
ven, clouded the light, and intercepted the day. Calling on
St. Mary for protection, he suddenly awoke, commanded a
light to be brought, and forbade his attendants to leave him.
They then watched with him several hours until daylight.
Shortly after, just as the day began to dawn, a certain fo-
reign monk told Robert Fitz Hamon, one of the principal
nobility, that he had that night dreamed a strange and fear-
ful dream about the king : " That he had come into a certain
church, with menacing and insolent gesture, as was his cus-
tom, looking contemptuously on the standers by ; then
violently seizing the crucifix, he gnawed the arms, and al-
most tore away the legs : that the image endured this for a
long time, but at length struck the king with its foot in such
a manner that he fell backwards : from his mouth, as he lay
prostrate, issued so copious a flame that the volumes of
smoke touched the very stars." Robert, thinking that this
dream ought not to be neglected, as he was intimate with
him, immediately related it to the king. William, repeatedly

A.D. 1100.] DEATH OF WILLIAM U. * 345

laughing, exclaimed, " He is a monk, and dreams for money
like a monk : give him a hundred shillings." Neverthe-
less, being greatly moved, he hesitated a long while whether
he should go out to hunt, as he had designed : his friends
persuading him not to suffer the truth of the dreams to be
tried at his personal risk. In consequence, he abstained
from the chase before dinner, dispelling the uneasiness of
his unregulated mind by serious business. They relate, that,
having plentifully regaled that day, he soothed his cares with
a more than usual quantity of wine. After dinner he went
into the forest, attended by few persons ; of whom the most
intimate with him was Walter, surnamed Tirel, who had
been induced to come from France by the liberality of the
king. This man alone had remained with him, while the
others, employed in the chase, were dispersed as chance
directed. The sun was now declining, when the king, draw-
ing his bow and letting fly an arrow, slightly wounded a
stag which passed before him ; and, keenly gazing, followed
it, still running, a long time with his eyes, holding up his
hand to keep off the power of the sun's rays. At this instant
Walter, conceiving a noble exploit, which was while the
king's attention was otherwise occupied to transfix another
stag which by chance came near him, unknowingly, and
without power to prevent it, Oh, gracious God ! pierced his
breast with a fatal arrow.* On receiving the wound, the
king uttci-ed not a word ; but breaking off the shaft of the
weapon where it projected from his body, fell upon the
wound, by which he accelerated his death. Walter imme-
diately ran up, but as he found him senseless and speechless,
he leaped swiftly upon his horse, and escaped by spurring
him to his utmost speed. Indeed there was none to pursue
him : some connived at his flight ; others pitied him ; and all

• " The tradition of William having met his death by the hand of Sir
Walter Tirel, whilst hunting in the New Forest, is generally received ; but
Suger, a contemporary historian, and, as it seems, a friend of Tirel, in his
Life of Louis le Gros, king of France, alluding to the death of Rufus, ob-
serves, ' Imponebatur a quibusdam cuidam nobili Gualtero Tirello quod
eum sagitta perfoderat : quem, cum nee timeret nee speraret, jurejurando
saepius audivimus quasi sacrosanctum asserere, quod ea die nee in eam par-
tem silvee, in qua rex venebatur, venerit, nee eum in silva omnino viderit.'
See also Edmer, Hist. Nov. p. 54, and Ord. Vit. Jlist. Eccles. lib. x.
p. 783."— Hardy.

346 • WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [b. iv. c. i.

were intent on other matters. Some began to fortify their
dwellings ; others to plunder ; and the rest to look out for a
new king. A few countrymen conveyed the body, placed on
a cart, to the cathedral at Winchester ; the blood dripping
from it all the way. Here it was committed to the ground
within the tower, attended by many of the nobility, though
lamented by few. Next year,* the tower fell ; though I for-
bear to mention the different opinions on this subject, lest I
should seem to assent too readily to unsupported trifles, more
especially as the building might have fallen, through imper-
fect construction, even though he had never been buried
there. He died in the year of our Lord's incarnation 1100,
of his reign the thirteenth, on the fourth before the nones of
August, aged above forty years. He formed mighty plans,
which he would have brought to effect, could he have spun
out the tissue of fate, or broken through, and disengaged
himself from, the violence, of fortune. Such was the energy
of his mind, that he was bold enough to promise himself any
kingdom whatever. Indeed the day before his death, being
asked where he would keep his Christmas, he answered, in
Poitou ; because the earl of Poitou, wishing anxiously to
go to Jerusalem, was said to be about to pawn his territory
to him. Thus, not content with his paternal possessions,
and allured by expectation of greater glory, he grasped at
honours not pertaining to him. He was a man much to be
pitied by the clergy, for throwing away a soul which they
could not save ; to be beloved by stipendiary soldiers, for
the multitude of his gifts ; but not to be lamented by the peo-
ple, because he suffered their substance to be plundered. I
remember no council being held in his time, wherein the health
of the church might be strengthened through the correction of
abuses. He hesitated a long time ere he bestowed ecclesias-
tical honours, either for the sake of emolument, or of weigh-
ing desert. So that on the day he died, he held in his own
hands three bishoprics, and twelve vacant abbeys. Besides,
seeking occasion from the schism between Urban in Rome
and Guibert at Ravenna, he forbade the payment of the tri-

• It fell A.D. 1107. An. Winton.

+ By this probably is to be understood the payment of Peter-pence*
Anselm had offended the king, by acknowledging Urban without consult-
ing him.

A.B.1100.] OF THE CISTERTIAN OKDER. 347

butef to the holy see : though he was more inclined to favour
Guibert ; because the ground and instigation of the discord be-
tween himself and Anselm was, that this man, so dear to God,
had pronounced Urban to be pope, the other an apostate.

In his time began the Cistertian order, which is now both
believed and asserted to be the surest road to heaven.* To
speak of this does not seem irrelevant to the work I have
undertaken, since it redounds to the glory of England to
have produced the distinguished man who was the author and
promoter of that rule. To us he belonged, and in our schools
passed the earlier part of his life. Wherefore, if we are not
envious, we shall embrace his good qualities the more kindly
in proportion as we knew them more intimately. And,
moreover, I am anxious to extol his praise, "because it is
a mark of an ingenuous mind to approve that virtue in
others, of which in yourself you regret the absence." He
was named Harding, and born in England of no very illus-
trious parents. From his early years, he was a monk at
Sherborne; but when secular desires had captivated his
youth, he grew disgusted with the monastic garb, and went
first to Scotland, and afterwards to France. Here, after
some years' exercise in the liberal arts, he became awakened
to the love of God. For, when manlier years had put away
childish things, he went to Rome with a clerk who partook
of his studies ; neither the length and difficulty of the jour- ;
ney, nor the scantiness of their means of subsistence by the /
way, preventing them, both as they went and returned, from /
singing daily the whole psalter. Indeed the mind of this '
celebrated man was already meditating the design which
soon after, by the grace of God, he attempted to put in exe- '
cution. For returning into Burgundy, he was shorn at Mo-
lesmes, a new and magnificent monastery. Here he readilW
admitted the first elements of the order, as he had formerly
seen them ; but when additional matters were proposed few*
Lis observance, such as he had neither read in the rule n©r
seen elsewhere, he began, modestly and as became a mon/k,
to ask the reason of them, saying : " By reason the supreifne
Creator has made all things ; by reason he governs all thinj^s ;
by reason the fabric of the world revolves ; by reason e;ven
the planets move ; by reasoji the elements are directed ; /and
* Juvertftl, Sat. i. 37. /

348 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. iB.iv.c.1.

by reason, and by due regulation, our nature ought to con-
duct itself. But since, through sloth, she too often departs
from reason, many laws were, long ago, enacted for her use ;
and, latterly, a divine rule has been promulgated by St. Bene-
dict, to bring back the deviations of nature to reason. In
this, though some things are contained the design of which I
cannot fathom, yet I deem it necessary to yield to authority.
And though reason and the authority of the holy writers
may seem at variance, yet still they are one and the same.
For since God hath created and restored nothing without
reason, how can I believe that the holy fathers, no doubt
strict followers of God, could command anything but what
was reasonable, as if we ought to give credit to their bare
authority. See then that you bring reason, or at least autho-
rity, for what you devise ; although no great credit should
be given to what is merely supported by human reason, be-
cause it may be combated with arguments equally forcible.
Therefore from that rule, which, equally supported by reason
and authority, appears as if dictated by the spirit of all just
persons, produce precedents, which if you fail to do, in vain
shall you profess his rule, whose regulations you disdain to
comply with."

Sentiments of this kind, spreading as usual from one to
another, justly moved the hearts of such as feared God,
" lest haply they should or had run in vain." The subject,
then, being canvassed in frequent chapters, ended by bring-
ing over the abbat himself to the opinion that all superfluous
matters should be passed by, and merely the essence of the
rule be scrutinized. Two of the fraternity, therefore, of
equal faith and learning, were elected, who, by vicarious ex-
^amination, were to discover the intention of the founder's
rule ; and when they had discovered it, to propound it to the
rsest. The abbat diligently endeavoured to induce the whole
clpnvent to give their concurrence, but "as it is difficult to
erradicate from men's minds, what has early taken root, since
thiey reluctantly relinquish the first notions they have im-
bibed," almost the whole of them refused to accept the new
regulations, because they were attached to the old. Eighteen
only, among whom was Harding, otherwise called Stephen,
persevering in their holy determination, together with their
abbat, left the monastery, declaring that the purity of the

A.D. 1100.] OP THE CISTERTIAN ORDER. 349

institution could not be preserved in a place where riches
and gluttony warred against even the heart that was well in-
clined. They came therefore to Citeaux; a situation for-
merly covered with woods, but now so conspicuous from the
abundant piety of its monks, that it is not undeservedly
esteemed conscious of the Divinity himself. Here, by the
countenance of the archbishop of Vienne, who is now pope,
they entered on a labour worthy to be remembered and vene-
rated to the end of time.

Certainly many of their regulations seem severe, and more
particularly these: they wear nothing made with furs or
linen, nor even that finely spun linen garment, which we
call Staminium ;* neither breeches, unless when sent on a
journey, which at their return they wash and restore. They
have two tunics with cowls, but no additional garment in win-
ter, though, if they think fit, in summer they may lighten their
garb. They sleep clad and girded, and never after matins
return to their beds : but they so order the time of matins
that it shall be light ere the lauds f begin ; so intent are they
on their rule, that they think no jot or tittle of it should be
disregarded. Directly after these hymns they sing the
prime, after which they go out to work for stated hours.
They complete whatever labour or service they have to per-
form by day without any other light. No one is ever absent
from the daily services, or from complines, except the sick.
The cellarer and hospitaller, after complines, wait upon the
guests, yet observing the strictest silence. The abbat allows
himself no indulgence beyond the others,— every where pre-
sent,— every where attending to his flock; except that he
does not eat with the rest, because his table is with the
strangers and the poor. Nevertheless, be he where he may,
he is equally sparing of food and of speech ; for never more
than two dishes are served either to him or to his company ; lard
and meat never but to the sick. From the Ides of Septem-
ber till Easter, through regard for whatever festival, they do
not take mere than one meal a day, except on Sunday. They
never the leave the cloister but for the purpose of labour,
nor do they ever speak, either there or elsewhere, save only
to the abbat or prior. They pay unwearied attention to the

• A kind of woollen shirt.

t The concluding psalms of the matin service.

350 WILLIAM OF MALMFjSBTJRY. .b. ir. c.\ J

canonical* services, making no addition to them except the
vigil for the defunct. They use in their divine service the
Ambrosian chants | and hymns, as far as they were able to
learn them at Milan. While they bestow care on the stran-
ger and the sick, they inflict intolerable mortifications on
their own bodies, for the health of their souls.

The abbat, at first, both encountered these privations with
much alacrity himself, and compelled the rest to do the same.
In process of time, however, the man repented; J he had
been delicately brought up, and could not well bear such
continued scantiness of diet. The monks, whom he had left
at Molesmes, getting scent of this disposition, either by mes-
sages or letters, for it is uncertain which, drew him back to
the monastery, by his obedience to the pope, for such was
their pretext : compelling him to a measure to which he was
already extremely well-disposed. For, as if wearied out
by the pertinacity of their entreaties, he left the narrow
confines of poverty, and resought his former magnificence.
All followed him from Citeaux, who had gone thither with
him, except eight. These, few in number but great in virtue,
appointed Alberic, one of their party, abbat, and Stephen
prior. The former not surviving more than eight years was,
at the will of heaven, happily called away. Then, doubt-
less by God's appointment, Stephen though absent was
elected abbat ; the original contriver of the whole scheme ;
the especial and celebrated ornament of our times. Sixteen
abbeys which he has already completed, and seven which he
has begun, are sufficient testimonies of his abundant merit.
Thus, by the resounding trumpet of God, he directs the
people around him, both by word and deed, to heaven ; act-
ing fully up to his own precepts ; afiable in speech, pleasant
in look, and with a mind always rejoicing in the Lord.

• The Horae, or canonical services, were matins, primes, tierce, sexts,
nones, vespers, and complines.

+ The Ambrosian ritual prevailed pretty generally till the time of
Charlemagne, who adopted the Gregorian. Diirandus (lib. v. c. 1) has a
cvirious account of an experiment, on the result of which was founded
the general reception of the latter, and the confining the former chiefly to
Milan, the church of St. Ambrose.

X The learned Mabillon appears much displeased with Malmesbury, for
the motives here assigned for abbat Robert's q'oitting Citeaux. Vide Ann.
Benedictinor.

A.D. 1100. J OF THE CISTEETIAN ORDER. 351

Hence, openly, that noble joy of countenance; hence,
secretly, that compunction, coming from above ; because,
despising this state of a sojourner, he constar.«tly desires to
be in a place of rest. For these causes he is beloved by all ;
" For God graciously imparts to the minds of other men a
love for that man whom he loves." Wherefore the inhabit-
ant of that country esteems himself happy if, through his
hands, he can transmit his wealth to God. He receives
much, indeed, but expending little on his own wants, or
those of his flock, he distributes tjie rest to the poor, or em-
ploys it immediately on the building of monasteries ; for the
purse of Stephen is the public treasury of the indigent. A proof
of his abstinence is that you see nothing there, as in other
monasteries, flaming with gold, blazing with jewels, or glit-
tering with silver. For as a Gentile says, " Of what use is
goldHo a saint ?" We think it not enough in our holy vases,
unless the ponderous metal be eclipsed by precious stones ;
by the flame of the topaz, the violet of the amethyst, and
the green shade of the emerald : unless the sacerdotal robes
wanton with gold ; and unless the walls glisten with various
coloured paintings, and throw the reflexion of the sun's rays
upon the ceiling. These men, however, placing those things
which mortals foolishly esteem the first, only in a secondary
point of view, give all their diligence to improve their morals,
and love pure minds, more than gUttering vestments ; knowing
that the best remuneration for doing well, is to enjoy a clear
conscience. Moreover, if at any time the laudable kindness
of the abbat either desires, or feigns a desire, to modify
aught from the strict letter of the rule, they are ready to
oppose such indulgence, saying, that they have no long time
to live, nor shall they continue to exist so long as they have
already done ; that they hope to remain stedfast in their pur
pose to the end, and to be an example to their successors,
who will transgress if they should give way. And, indeed,
through human weakness, the perpetual law of which is that
nothing attained, even by the greatest labour, can long re-
main unchanged, it will be so. But to comprise, briefly, all
things which are or can be said of them, — the Cistertian
monks at the present day are a model for all monks, a mirror
for the diligent, a spur to the indolent.

At this time three sees in England were transferred from

352 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [arv. al.

their aiiCient situations ; "Wells to Bath, by John ; Chester to
Coventry, by Robert ; Thetford to Norwich, by Herbert ; all
through greater ambition, than ought to have influenced men
of such eminence. Finally, to speak of the last first : Herbert,
from his skill in adulation, surnamed Losinga,* was first abbat
of Ramsey, and then purchased the bishopric of Thetford,
while his father, Robert, surnamed as himself, was intruded
on the abbey of Winchester. This man, then, was the great
source of simony in England; having craftily procured by
means of his wealth, both, an abbey and a bishopric. For
he hood-winked the king's solicitude for the church by his
money, and whispered great promises to secure the favour
of the nobility: whence a poet of those times admirably
observes,

'* A monster in the church from Losing rose,
Base Simon's sect, the canons to oppose.
Peter, thou'rt slow; see Simon soars on high;
If present, soon thou'd'st hurl him from the sky.f
Oh grief, the church is let to sordid hire,
The son a bishop, abbat is the sire.
All may be hoped from gold's prevailing sway,
Which governs all things; gives and takes away;
Makes bishops, abbats, basely in a day."

Future repentance, however, atoned for the errors of his
youth : he went to Rome, when he was of a more serious
age, and there resigning the staff and ring which he had
acquired by simony, had them restored through the indulg-
ence of that most merciful see; for the Romans regard it
both as more holy and more fitting, that the dues from each
church should rather come into their own purse, than be
subservient to the use of any king whatever. Herbert thus
returning home, removed the episcopal see, which had for-
merly been at Helmham, and was then at Thetford, to a
town, celebrated for its trade and populousness, called Nor-
*vich. Here he settled a congregation of monks, famous for
their numbers and their morals ; purchasing everything for
them out of his private fortune. For, having an eye to the
probable complaints of his successors, he gave none of the

• From the French " losenge," adulation.

+ Alluding to the legend of St. Peter and Simon Magnus ; who having
undertaken by means of enchantment, to fly, was, by the adjuration of St.
Petcr» dashed to the earth and killed. Vide Fabricius, Codex Apocryphua.

A,D. 1100.] HERBERT, BISHOP OF NORWICH. 353

episcopal lands to tlie monastery, lest they should deprive
the servants of God of their subsistence, if they found any
thing given to them which pertained to their see. At Thet-
ford, too, he settled Clugniac monks, because the members
of that order, dispersed throughout the world, are rich in
worldly possessions, and of distinguished piety towards God.
Thus, by the great and extensive merit of his virtues, he
shrouded the multitude of his former failings; and by his
abundant eloquence and learning, as well as by his know-
ledge in secular affairs, he became worthy even of the Ro-
man pontificate. Herbert thus changed, as Lucan observes
of Curio, became the changer and mover of all things ; and,
as in the times of this king, he had been a pleader in behalf
of simony, so was he, afterwards, its most strenuous opposer ;
nor did he suffer that to be done by others, which he la-
mented he had ever himself done through the presumption
of juvenile ardour : ever having in his mouth, as they relate,
the saying of St. Jerome, " We have erred when young ; let
us amend now we are old." Finally, who can sufficiently
extol his conduct, who, though not a very rich bishop, yet
built so noble a monastery ; in which nothing appears defec-
tive, either in the beauty of the lofty edifice, the elegance of
its ornaments, or in the piety and universal charity of its
monks. These things soothed him with joyful hope while
he lived, and when dead, if repentance be not in vain, con-
ducted him to heaven.*

John was bishop of Wells ; a native of Touraine, and an
approved physician, by practice, rather than education. On
the death of the abbat of Bath, he easily obtained the abbey
from the king, both because all things at court were exposed
to sale, and his covetousness seemed palliated by some de-
gree of reason, that so famed a city might be still more
celebrated, by becoming the see of a bishop. He at first
began to exercise his severity against the monks, because
they were dull, and in liis estimation, barbarians; taking
away all the lands ministering to their subsistence, and
furnishing them with but scanty provision by his lay de-
pendants. In process of time, however, when new monks

• His letters, long supposed to be lost, were found by the editor of this
work in a MS. belonging to the Burgundian library at Brussels, and har^
been smce published by R. Anstmther, 8vo. Bruxellis, 1845.

354 WILLIA3I OP MALMESBURr. [b. rv. c. L

had been admitted, he conducted himself with more mild-
ness; and gave a small portion of land to the prior, by
which he might, in some measure, support himself and his
inmates. And although he had begun austerely, yet many
things were there by him both nobly begun and completed,
in decorations and in books ; and more especially, in a selec-
tion of monks, equally notable for their learning and kind
offices. But still he could not, even at his death, be softened
far enough totally to exonerate the lands from bondage:
leaving, in this respect, an example not to be followed by
his successors.

There was in the diocese of Chester, a monastery, called
Coventry, which, as I have before related, the most noble
earl Leofric, with his lady Godiva, had built; so splendid
for its gold and silver, that the very walls of the church
seemed too scanty to receive the treasures, to the great
astonishment of the beholders. This, Robert bishop of the
diocese eagerly seized on, in a manner by no means epis-
copal ; stealing from the very treasures of the church where-
with he might fill the hand of the king, beguile the vigilance
of the pope, and gratify the covetousness of the Romans.
Continuing there many years, he gave no proof of worth
whatever: for, so far from rescuing the nodding roofs from
ruin, he wasted the sacred treasures, and became guilty of
peculation ; and a bishop might- have been convicted of il-
legal exactions, had an accuser been at hand. He fed the
monks on miserable fare, made no attempts to excite in them
a love for their profession, and suffered them to reach only
a very conunon degree of learning; lest he should make
them delicate by sumptuous living, or strictness of rule
and depth of learning should spirit them up to oppose
him. Contented therefore with rustic fare, and humble
literary attainments, they deemed it enough, if they could
only live in peace. Moreover, at his death, paying little
attention to the dictates of the canons, by which it is
enacted, that bishops ought to be buried in their cathe-
drals, he commanded himself to be interred, not at Chester,
but at Coventry; leaving to his successors by such a de-
cision, the task, not of claiming what was not due to them,
but as it were, of vindicating their proper right.

Here, while speaking of the times of William, I should be

t.D. 1100.] JOSCELTN. 355

induced to relate the translation of the most excellent Augus-
tine, the apostle of the English and of his companions, had
not the talents of the learned Josceljn, anticipated me :* of
Josceljn, who being a monk of St. Bertin, formerly came
to England with Herman bishop of Salisbury, skilled equally
in literature and music. For a considerable time he visited
the cathedrals and abbeys, and left proofs of uncommon
learning in many places ; he was second to none after Bede
in the celebration of the English saints ; next to Osbernef
too, he bore away the palm in music. Moreover he wrote
innumerable lives of modern saints, and restored, in an ele-
gant manner, such of those of the ancients as had been lost
through the confusion of the times, or had been carelessly
edited. He also so exquisitely wrought the process of this
translation, that he may be said to have realized it to the
present race, and given a view of it to posterity. Happy
that tongue, which ministered to so many saints ! happy that
voice, which poured forth such melody ! more especially as
in his life, his probity equalled his learning. But, as I have
hitherto recorded disgraceful transactions of certain bishops,
I will introduce others of different lives and dispositions,
who were in being at the same time ; that our age may not
be said to have grown so negligent as not to produce one
single saint. Such as are desirous, may find this promise
completed in a subsequent book, after the narrative of king
Henry's transactions.

CHAP. n.

The Expedition to Jerusalem. [a.d. 1095 — 1105.]

I SHALL now describe the expedition to Jerusalem, relating
in my own words what was seen and endured by others.
Besides too, as opportunity offers, I shall select from ancient
writers, accounts of the situation and riches of Constanti-
nople, Antioch, and Jerusalem ; in order that he who is un-

* Joscelyn's " Life and Translation of St. Augustine" is printed in the
** Acta Sanctor. Antwerp. 26 Maii." See the Preface to Bede, p. xxxix.

+ Another famous writer of Lives of Saints, several of which exist still
iuMS.

AA2

356 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [n.iy.c.Z

acquainted with these matters, and meets with this work,
may have something to communicate to others. But for
such a relation there needs a more fervent spirit, in order
to complete effectually, what I begin with such pleasure.
Invoking, therefore, the Divinity, as is usual, I begin as
follows.

In the year of the incarnation 1095, pope Urban the
second, who then filled the papal throne, passing the Alps,
came into France. The ostensible cause of his journey, was,
that, being driven from home by the violence of Guibert, he
might prevail on the churches on this side of the mountains to
acknowledge him. His more secret intention was not so well
known ; this was, by Boamund's advice, to excite almost the
whole of Europe to undertake an expedition into Asia ; that
in such a general commotion of all countries, auxiliaries
might easily be engaged, by whose means both Urban might
obtain Rome; and Boamund, Illyria and Macedonia. For
Guiscard, his father, had conquered those countries from
Alexius, and also all the territory extending from Durazzo
to Thessalonica ; wherefore Boamund claimed them as his
due, since he obtained not the inheritance of Apulia, which
his father had given to his younger son, Roger. Still
nevertheless, whatever might be the cause of Urban's journey,
it turned out of great and singular advantage to the Christian
world. A council, therefore, was assembled at Clermont,*
which is the most noted city of Auvergne. The number of
bishops and abbats was three hundred and ten. Here at
first, during several days, a long discussion was carried on
concerning the catholic faith, and the establishing peace
among contending parties, f For, in addition to those crimes
in which every one indulged, all, on this side of the Alps,
had arrived at such a calamitous state, as to take each other
captive on little or no pretence ; nor were they suffered to

* " The council of Clermont, in Auvergne, continued from 1 8th to 28th
of Nov. A.D. 1095 ; wherein the decrees of the councils held by pope
Urban at Melfe, Benevento, Troie, and Plaisance, were confirmed, and
many new canons made. Malmesbury's is perhaps the best account now
known of that celebrated council. See the acts of the council of Cler-
mont ; Cone. tom. xii. p. 829, &c." — Hardy.

t The practice of private wars ; for an account of which, see Robertson'*
Hist, of Charles V. 'ol. i.

A.i>. 1095.] COUNCIL OP CLERMONT. 357

go tree, unless ransomed at an enormous price. Again too,
the snake of simony had so reared her slippery crest, and
cherished, with poisonous warmth, her deadly eggs, that the
whole world became infected with her mortal hissing, and
tainted the honours of the church. At that time, I will not
say bishops to their sees merely, but none aspired even to
any ecclesiastical degree, except by the influence of money.
Then too, many persons putting away their lawful wives,
procured divorces, and invaded the marriage-couch of others.
Wherefore, as in both these cases, there was a mixed multi-
tude of offenders, the names of some powerful persons were
singled out for punishment. Not to be tedious, I will sub-
join the result of the whole council, abbreviating some parts,
in my own language.

In a council at Clermont, in the presence of pope Urban,
these articles were enacted. " That the cathoHc church
shall be pure in faith ; free from all servitude : that bishops,
or abbats, or clergy of any rank, shall receive no ecclesiasti-
cal dignity from the hand of princes, or of any of the laity :
that clergymen shall not hold prebends in two churches or
cities : that no one shall be bishop and abbat at the same
time : that ecclesiastical dignities shall be bought and sold
by no one : that no person in holy orders shall be guilty of
carnal intercourse : that such as not knowing the canonical
prohibition had purchased canonries, should be pardoned :
but that they should be taken from such as knew they pos-
sesed them by their own purchase, or that of their parents :
that no layman from Ash- Wednesday, no clergyman from
Quadragesima, to Easter, shall eat flesh : that, at all times,
the first fast of the Ember Weeks, should be in the first
week of Lent : that orders should be conferred, at all times,
on the evening of Saturday, or on a Sunday, continuing fast-
ing :* that on Easter-eve, service should not be celebrated
till after the ninth hour : that the second fast should be
observed in the week of Pentecost : that from our Lord's
Advent, to the octave of the Epiphany ; from Septuagesima
to the octaves of Easter ; from the first day of the Rogations

* If orders could not be completely conferred on Saturday, the cere-
mony might be performed on Simday ; and the parties continuing to fast
the two days were considered as one only. — Durand.

S5S WILLIAJVI OF MALMESBURY. [B rv. c %

to the octaves of Pentecost ; and from the fourth day of the
week at sunset, at all times, to the second day in the follow-
ing week at sunrise, the Truce of God be observed :* that
whoever laid violent hands on a bishop should be excommu-
nicated : that whoever laid violent hands on clergymen or
their servants should be accursed : that whoever seized the
goods of bishops or clergymen at their deaths, should be
accursed : that whoever married a relation, even in the sixth
degree of consanguinity, should be accursed : that none
should be chosen bishop, except a priest, deacon, or sub-
deacon who was of noble descent, unless under pressing
necessity, and licence from the pope : that the sons of priests
and concubines should not be advanced to the priesthood,
unless they first made their vow : that whosoever fled to the
.^church, or the cross, should, being insured from loss of hmb,
Ih^e delivered up to justice ; or if innocent, be released : that
e-^ry church should enjoy its own tithes, nor pass them
away to another : that laymen should neither buy nor sell
tithes ; that no fee should be demanded for the burial of the
dead. In this council the pope excommunicated Philip, king
of France, and all who called him king or lord, and obeyed
or spoke to him, unless for the purpose of correcting him : in
like manner too his accursed consort, and all who called her
queen or lady, till they so far reformed as to separate from
each other : and also Guibert of Ravenna, who calls him-
self pope : and Henry, emperor of Germany, who supports
him."

Afterwards, a clear and forcible discourse, such as should
come from a priest, was addressed to the people, on the sub-
ject of an expedition of the Christians, against the Turks.
This I have thought fit to transmit to posterity, as I have
learned it from those who were present, preserving its
sense unimpaired. For who can preserve the force of
that eloquence ? We shall be fortunate, if, treading an
adjacent path, we come even by a circuitous route to its
meaning.

* The Truce of God, was so called from the eagerness with which its
first proposal was received by the suffering people of every degree : during
the time it endured, no one dared infringe it, by attacking his fellows. See
Du Cange : and Robertson's Charles V. vol. i. It was blamed by some
bishops as furnishing an occasion of perjury, and was rejected by the Nur-

• .D.1095.' POPE UKBAN's SPEECH.. 359

" You recollect," * said he, " my dearest brethren, many
vnings which have been decreed for you, at this time ; some
'natters, in our council, commanded ; others inhibited. A
rude and confused chaos of crimes required the deliberation
jf many days ; an inveterate malady demanded a sharp
remedy. For while we give unbounded scope to our
clemency, our papal office finds" numberless matters to
proscribe ; none to spare. But it has hitherto arisen
from human frailty, that you have erred, and that,
deceived by the speciousness of vice, you have exasperated
the long sufiering of God, by too lightly regarding his
forbearance. It has arisen too from human wantonness,
that, disregarding lawful wedlock, you have not duly
considered the heinousness of adultery. From too great
covetousness also, it has arisen, that, as opportunity offered,
making captive your brethren, bought by the same great
price, you have outrageously extorted from them their
wealth. To you, however, now suffering this perilous
shipwreck of sin, a secure haven of rest is offered,
unless you neglect it. A station of perpetual safety will
be awarded you, for the exertion of a trifling labour against
the Turks. Compare, now, the labours which you underwent
m the practice of wickedness, and those which you will
encounter in the undertaking I advise. The intention of
committing adultery, or murder, begets many fears ; for, as
Soloman says, * There is nothing more timid than guilt : '
many labours ; for what is more toilsome than wickedness ?
But, *He who walks uprightly, walks securely.' Of these
labours, of these fears, the end was sin ; the wages of sin is
death ; the death of sinners is most dreadful. Now the same
labours and apprehensions are required from you, for a better
consideration. The cause of these labours, will be charity ;
if thus warned by the command of God, you lay down your
lives for the brethren : the wages of charity will be the grace
of God ; the grace of God is foUowed by eternal life. Go
then prosperously : Go, then, with confidence, to attack the
enemies of God. For they long since, oh sad reproach to

mans, as contrary to their privileges. The Truce of God was first esta-
blished in Aqiiitaine, 1032.

* There are other orations, said to have been delivered Dy Urban in this
council, remaining ; and L'Abbe (Concil. T. x.) has printed one from a
Vatican MS. ; but they are all very inferior to Malmesburj.

«^>0 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. iv. c. 2.

Christians ! have seized Syria, Armenia, and lastly, all Asia
Minor, the provinces of which are Bithynia, Phrygia,
Galatia, Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia, Isauria, Lycia, Cilicia ;
and, now they insolently domineer over Ulyricum, and all
the hither countries, even to the sea which is called the
Straits of St. George. Nay, they usurp even the sepulchre
of our Lord, that singular assurance of our faith ; and sell
to our pilgrims admissions to that city, which ought, had
they a trace of their ancient courage left, to be open to
Christians only. This alone might be enough to cloud our
brows ; but now, who except the most abandoned, or the
most envious of Christian reputation, can endure that we do
not divide the world equally with them ? They inhabit Asia,
the third portion of the world, as their native soil, which was
justly esteemed by our ancestors equal, by the extent of its
tracts and greatness of its provinces, to the two remaining
parts. There, formerly, sprang up the first germs of our
faith ; there, all the apostles, except two, consecrated their
deaths ; there, at the present day, the Christians, if any
survive, sustaining life by a wretched kind of agriculture,
pay these miscreants tribute, and even with stifled sighs,
long for the participation of your liberty, since they have
lost their own. They hold Africa also, another quarter of
the world, already possessed by their arms for more than
two hundred years ; which on this account I pronounce
derogatory to Christian honour, because that country was
anciently the nurse of celebrated geniuses, who, by their
divine writings, will mock the rust of antiquity as long as
there shall be a person who can relish Roman literature : *
the learned know the truth of what I say. Europe, the
third portion of the world remains ; of which, how small a
part do we Christians inhabit ? for who can call all those
barbarians who dwell in remote islands of the Frozen Ocean,
Christians, since they live after a savage manner ? Even
this small portion of the world, belonging to us, is oppressed
by the Turks and Saracens. Thus for three hundred years,
Spain and the Balearic isles have been subjugated to them,
and the possession of the remainder is eagerly anticipated
by feeble men, who, not having courage to engage in close
encounter, love a flying mode of warfare. For the Turk
* He alludes to St. Augiistine and the fathers of the African church*

AD. 1085.] POPE URBAN's SPEECH. 361

never ventures upon close fight ; but, when driven from his
station, bends his bow at a distance, and trusts the winds
with his meditated wound ; and as he has poisoned arrows,
venom, and not valour, inflicts the death on the man he
strikes. Whatever he effects, then, I attribute to fortune,
not to courage, because he wars by flight, and by poison. It
is apparent too, that every race, born in that region, being
scorched with the intense heat of the sun, abounds more in
reflexion, than in blood ; and, therefore, they avoid coming
to close quarters, because they are aware how little blood
they possess. Whereas the people who are born amid the
polar frosts, and distant from the sun's heat, are less cautious
indeed ; but, elate from their copious and luxuriant flow of
blood, they fight with the greatest alacrity. You are a nation
born in the more temperate regions of the world ; who may
be both prodigal of blood, in defiance of death and wounds ;
and are not deficient in prudence. For you equally preserve
good conduct in camp, and are considerate in battle. Thus
endued with skill and with valour, you undertake a memora-
ble expedition. You will be extolled throughout all ages, if
you rescue your brethren from danger. To those present, in
God's name, I command this ; to the absent I enjoin it. Let
such as are going to fight for Christianity, put the form of
the cross upon their garments, that they may, outwardly,
demonstrate the love arising from their inward faith ;
enjoying by the gift of God, and the privilege of St. Peter,
absolution from all their crimes : let this in the meantime
soothe the labour of their journey ; satisfied that they shall
obtain, after death, the advantages of a blessed martyrdom.
Putting an end to your crimes then, that Christians may
at least live peaceably in these countries, go, and employ in
nobler warfare, that valour, and that sagacity, which you
used to waste in civil broils : Go, soldiers every where
renowned in fame, go, and subdue these dastardly nations.
Let the noted valour of the French advance, which,
accompanied by its adjoining nations, shall affright the
whole world by the single terror of its name. But why do
I delay you longer by detracting from the courage of the
gentiles ? Rather bring to your recollection the saying of
God, ' Narrow is the way which leadeth to life.' Be it so
then : the track to be followed is narrow, replete with death,

362 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUEY. [b. iv. c. 2.

and terrible with dangers ; still tHis path will lead to your
lost country. No doubt you must, 'by much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of God.' Place then, before your
imagination, if you shall be made captive, torments and
chains ; nay, every possible suffering that can be inflicted.
Expect, for the firmness of your faith, even horrible punish-
ments ; that so, if it be necessary, you may redeem your
souls at the expense of your bodies. Do you fear death ?
you men of exemplary courage and intrepidity. Surely
human wickedness can devise nothing against you, worthy
to be put in competition with heavenly glory : for the
sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared
* to the glory which shall be revealed in us.' Know ye not,
*that for men to live is wretchedness, and happiness to
die ? ' This doctrine, if you remember, you imbibed with
your mother's milk, through the preaching of the clergy :
and this doctrine your ancestors, the martyrs, held out by
example. Death sets free from its filthy prison the human
soul, which then takes flight for the mansions fitted to its
virtues. Death accelerates their country to the good : death
cuts short the wickedness of the ungodly. By means of
death, then, the soul, made free, is either soothed with joyful
hope, or is punished without farther apprehension of worse.
So long as it is fettered to the body, it derives from it
earthly contagion ; or to say more truly, is dead. For,
earthly with heavenly, and divine with mortal, ill agree.
The soul, indeed, even now, in its state of union with the
body, is capable of great efforts ; it gives life to its instru-
ment, secretly moving and animating it to exertions almost
beyond mortal nature. But when, freed from the clog which
drags it to the earth, it regains its proper station, it partakes
of a blessed and perfect energy, communicating after some
measure with the invisibility of the divine nature. Dis-
charging a double office, therefore, it ministers life to the
body when it is present, and the cause of its change, when
it departs. You must observe how pleasantly the soul wakes
in the sleeping body, and, apart from the senses, sees many
future events, from the principle of its relationship to the
Deity. Why then do ye fear death, who love the repose of
sleep, which resembles death ? Surely it must be madness,
tlirough lust of a transitory life, to deny yourselves that

\

A.D 1095.1 POPE URBAN'S SPEECH. 363

which is eternal. Rather, my dearest brethren, should it so
happen, lay down your lives for the brotherhood. Rid God's
sanctuary of the wicked : expel the robbers : bring in the
pious. Let no love of relations detain you ; for man's
chiefest love is towards God. Let no attachment to your
native soil be an impediment ; because, in different points
of view, all the world is exile to the Christian, and all the
world his country. Thus exile is his country, and his
country exile. Let none be restrained from going by the
largeness of his patrimony, for a still larger is promised
him ; not of such things as soothe the miserable with vain
expectation, or flatter the indolent disposition with the mean
advantages of wealth, but of such as are shewn by perpetual
example and approved by daily experience. Yet these too
are pleasant, but vain, and which, to such as despise them,
produce reward a hundred-fold. These things I publish,
these I command : and for their execution I fix the end of
the ensuing spring. God will be gracious to those who
undertake this expedition, that they may have a favourable
year, both in abundance of produce, and in serenity of
season. Those who may die will enter the mansions of
heaven ; while the living shall behold the sepulchre of the
Lord. And what can be greater happiness, than for a man,
in his life-time, to see those places, where the Lord of
heaven was conversant as a man ? Blessed are they, who,
called to these occupations, shall inherit such a recompence :
fortunate are those who are led to such a conflict, that they
may partake of such rewards."

I have adhered to the tenor of this address, retaining
some few things unaltered, on account of the truth of the re-
marks, but omitting many. The bulk of the auditors were
extremely excited, and attested their sentiments by a shout ;
pleased with the speech, and inclined to the pilgrimage. And
immediately, in presence of the council, some of the nobility
falling down at the knees of the pope, consecrated themselves
and their property to the service of God. Among these was
Aimar, the very powerful bishop of Puy, who afterwards
ruled the army by his prudence, and augmented it through
his eloquence. In the month of November, then, in which
this council was held^ each departed to his home : and tl- e
report of this good resolution soon becoming general, it

f B. IV. C. 2.

364 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBUBY.

gently wafted a cheering gale over the minds of the Chris^
tians: which being universally diffused, there was no nation
so remote, no people so retired, as not to contribute its por-
tion.^ This ardent love not only inspired the continental
provinces, but even all who had heard the name of Christ

T^^*w 1 ? *^^i T^- ?^'*^"* ^'^^^^«' ^^ «^^^g^ countries;
The Welshman left his hunting; the Scot his feUowship with
lice ;* the Dane his drinking party ; the Norwegian his raw
fish. Lands were deserted oi their husbandmen ; houses of
their inhabitants ; even whole cities migrated. There was
no regard to relationship; affection to their country was
held m httle esteem ; God alone was placed before their eyes
Whatever was stored in granaries, or hoarded in chambers,
to answer the hopes of the avaricious husbandman, or the
covetousness of the miser, all, aU was deserted ; they hun-
gered and thirsted after Jerusalem alone. Joy attended such
as proceeded ; while grief oppressed those who remained.
But why do I say remained ? You might see the husband
departing with his wife, indeed, with all his family ; you
would smile to see the whole household laden on a carriage
about to proceed on their journey.f The road was too nar'
row for the passengers, the path too confined for the travel-
lers, so thickly were they thronged with endless multitudes.
Ihe number surpassed all human imagination, though the
Itinerants were estimated at six millions.^ Doubtless, never
did so many nations unite in one opinion ; never did so im-
mense a population subject their unruly passions to one, and
ahnost to no, direction. For the strangest wonder to behold
was, that such a countless multitude marched gradually
through various Christian countries without plundering
though there was none to restrain them. Mutual regard

V* *rv ^ w^?""'^"/ ifV^* ^? ^ ^'^^^ ^"^ "°^^^ P^«P^« ^"8 unworthy a wri-
\ter like Wilham of Malmesbuiy ; but the monkish historians were as defi-
W m taste as m style. The cloister was a useful seminary to teach the
Woddmg accuracy which is required to write a chronicle ; but for elevation
fol mind and diifusion of liberal sentiment, it was as inefficient as it is still,
t Ihe rustic, observes Guibert, shod his oxen like horses, and placed his
whole family on a cart; where it was amusing to hear the children, on the
approach to any large town or castle, inquiring, if that were Jerusalem.
Guib. Novigent. Opera, p. 482.

J Fulcher says, those who assumed the cross were estimated at that
number ; but that multitudes returned home ere they passed the sea. Ful-
chenus Camotensis ap. Gesta Dei per Francos, p 387

A«. 1095.] EFFECT OF URBAN's SPEECH. 365

blazed forti in all ; so that if any one found in his possession
what he kn3w did not belong to him, he exposed it every-
where for several days to be owned ; and the desire of the
finder was suspended, till perchance the wants of the loser
might be repaired.*

The long-looked for month of March was now at hand,
when, the hoary garb of winter being laid aside, the world,
clad in vernal bloom, invited the pilgrims to the confines of
the east ; nor, such was the ardour of their minds, did they
seek delay. Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, proceeded by way of
Hungary : second to none in military virtue, and, descended
from the ancient lineage of Charles the Great, he inherited
much of Charles both in blood and in mind. He was fol-
lowed by the Frisons, Lorrainers, Saxons, and all the people
who dwell between the Rhine and the Garonne. | Raimund,
earl of St. Giles, and Aimar, bishop of Puy, nobly matched
in valour, and alike noted for spirit against the enemy and
piety to God, took the route of Dalmatia. Under their
standard marched the Goths and Gascons, and all the people
scattered throughout the Pyrenees and the Alps. Before
them, by a shorter route, went Boamund, an Apulian by
residence, but a Norman by descent. For embarking at
Brindisi, and landing at Durazzo, he marched to Constanti-
nople by roads with which he was well acquainted. Under
his command, Italy, and the whole adjacent province, from
the Tuscan sea to the Adriatic, joined in the war. All these
assembling at the same time at Constantinople, partook some-
what of mutual joy. Here, too, they found Hugh the Great,
brother of Philip, king of France : for having inconsiderately,
and with a few soldiers, entered the territories of the empe-
ror, he was taken by his troops, and detained in free custody.
But Alexius, emperor of Constantinople, alarmed at the arri-
val of these chiefs, willingly, but, as it were, induced by their
entreaties, released him. Alexius was a man famed for his
duplicity, and never attempted any thing of importance,
unless by stratagem. He had taken off Guiscard, as I before

\

* However repugnant this representation may be to the generally re-
ceived opinion, it is that of an eye-witness, when describing the army
assembled at Constantinople. Fulch. Camot. p. 389.

t It should probably be the Elbe, as he appears to describe the people
of northern Germany.

366 WILLIAM 0/ MALMESBURY. [r iv. c. 2.

related, by poison, and had corrupted his wife by gold j
falsely promising by his emissaries to marry her. Again,
too, he allowed William, earl of Poitou, to be led into an
ambush of the Turks, and, after losing sixty thousand sol-
diers, to escape almost unattended ; being incensed at his
reply, when he refused homage to the Greek. In after time,
he laid repeated snares for Boamund, who was marching
against him to avenge the injuries of the crusaders ; and
when these failed he bereaved him of his brother Guido, and
of almost all his army ; making use of his usual arts either
in poisoning the rivers, or their garments : but of this here-
after. Now, however, removing the army from the city, and
mildly addressing the chiefs, his Grecian eloquence proved
so powerful, that he obtained from them all homage, and an
oath, that they would form no plot against him ; and that if
they could subdue the cities pertaining to his empire, they
would restore them to him, thus purchasing another's advan-
tage at the expense of their own blood. The credit of main-
taining his liberty appeared more estimable to Eaimund
alone ; so that he neither did homage to him, nor took the
oath. Collecting, then, all their forces, they made an attack
on Nicea, a city of Bithynia : for they chose to assault this
first, both as it was an obstacle to the crusaders, and as they
were eager to revenge the death of those pilgrims who had
recently been slain there. For one Walter, a distinguished
soldier, but precipitate, (for you will scarcely see prudence
and valour united in the same person, as one retards what
the other advances,) incautiously roaming around the walls,
had perished with a numerous party, which Peter the hermit
had allured, by his preaching, from their country.

Now, too, in the month of September, Robert earl of
Normandy, brother of king William whose name is prefixed
to this book, earnestly desiring to enter on the expedition,
had as his companions Robert of Flanders, and Stephen of
Blois who had married his sister. They were earls of noble
lineage and corresponding valour. Under their command
were the English and Normans, the Western Franks and
people of Flanders, and all the tribes which occupy the con-
tinental tract from the British Ocean to the Alps. Proceed-
ing on their journey, at Lucca they found pope Urban, who
being enraged at Guibert, as I have said, was, by the assist-

A.D. 1097.] ANCIENT ROME. 367

ance of Matilda, carrying war into Italy and around the city
of Rome. He had now so far succeeded that the Roman
people, inclining to his party, were harassing that of Guibert,
both by words and blows ; nor did the one faction spare the
other, either in the churches or in the streets, until Guibert,
being weakest, left the see vacant for Urban, and fled to
Germany.

Of Rome, formerly the mistress of the globe, but which
now, in comparison of its ancient state, appears a small
town ; and of the Romans, once " Sovereigns over all and the
gowned nation,"* who are now the most fickle of men, bar-
tering justice for gold, and dispensing with the canons for
money; of this city and its inhabitants, I say, whatever I
might attempt to write, has been anticipated by the verses
of Hildebert, first, bishop of Mans, and afterwards archbishop
of Tours.f Which I insert, not to assume the honour
acquired by another man's labour, but rather as a proof of a
liberal mind, while not envying his fame, I give testimony to
his charming poetry.

Rome, still thy ruins grand beyond compare, o /<*»i« *l<6'*
Thy former greatness mournfully declare,
Though time thy stately palaces around
Hath strewed, and cast thy temples to the ground,
Fall'n is the power, the power Araxes dire
Regrets now gone, and dreaded when entire ;
Which arms and laws, and ev'n the gods on high
Bade o'er the world assimie the mastery ;
Which guilty Caesar rather had enjoyed
Alone, than e'er a fostering hand employed.
Which gave to foes, to vice, to friends its care,
Subdued, restrained, or bade its kindness share
This growing power the holy fathers reared,
Where near the stream the fav'ring spot appeared.
From either pole, materials, artists meet,
And rising walls their proper station greet ;
Kings gave their treasures, fav'ring too was fate.
And arts and riches on the structure wait.
Fall'n is that city, whose proud fame to reach,
I merely say, " Rona^ xas," there fails my speech.

• Vir^,^neidi. 281.

f " Hildebert was translated to Tours, a.d. 1125, upon the death oi
Gislebert, who died at Rome about the middle of December, 1124, in the
same week with pope Calixtus. (Ord. Vit. hb. xii. p. 882.) " — Hardy,

368 WILLIAM OF MALMBSBUEY. lb. ir. :. &

Still neither time's decay, nor sword, nor fire,

Shall cause its beauty wholly to expire.

Human exertions raised that splendid Rome,

Which gods in vain shall strive to overcome.

Bid wealth, bid marble, and bid fate attend.

And watchful artists o'er the labour bend,

Still shall the matchless ruin art defy

The old to rival, or its loss supply.

Here gods themselves their sculptur'd forms admire.

And only to reflect those forms aspire ;

Nature unable such like gods to form.

Left them to man's creative genius warm ;

Life breathes within them, and the suppliant falls,

Not to the God, but statues in the walls.

City thrice blessed ! were tyrants but away,

Or shame compelled them justice to obey.

Are not these sufficient to point out in such a city, both
the dignity of its former advantages, and the majesty of its
present ruin ? But that nothing may be wanting to its
honour, I will add the number of its gates, and the multi-
tude of its sacked relics ; and that no person may complain
of his being deprived of any knowledge by the obscurity of
the narrative, the description shall run in an easy and fami-
liar style.*

The first is the Cornelian gate, Which is now called the
gate of St. Peter, and the Comehan way. Near it is situ-
ated the church of St. Peter, in which his body lies, decked
with gold and silver, and precious stones : and no one knows
the number of the holy martyrs who rest in that church. On
the same way is another church, in which lie the holy
virgins Rufina and Secunda. In a third church, are Marius
and Martha, and Audifax and Abacuc, their sons.

The second is the Flaminian gate, which is now called the
gate of St. Valentine, f and the Flaminian way, and when it
arrives at the Milvian bridge, it takes the name of the Ra-
vennanian way, because it leads to Ravenna ; and there, at
the first stone without the gate, St. Valentine rests in his
church.

The third is called the PorcinianJ gate, and the way the

• For a very interesting account of the walls and gates of Rome, see
Andrew Lumisden's " Remarks on the Antiquities of Rome and its Envi-
rons, London, 4to. 1797."

+ Now called Porta del Popolo. J Porta Pinciana.

AT,. 1097] DESCRIPTION OF ROME. S69

same; but where it joins the Salarian, it loses its name, and
there, nearly in the spot which is called Cucumeris, lie the
martyrs, Festus, Johannes, Liberalis, Diogenes, Blastus, Lu-
cina, and in one sepulchre, the Two Hundred and Sixty,* in
another, the Thirty.

The fourth is the Salarian f gate and way; now called St.
Silvester's. Here, near the road, lie St. Hermes, and St.
Vasella, and Prothus, and Jacinctus, Maxilian, Herculan,
Crispus ; and, in another place, hard by, rest the holy mar-
tyrs Pamphilus and Quirinus, seventy steps beneath the sur-
face. Next is the church of St. Felicity, where she rests,
and Silanus her son ; and not far distant, Boniface the mar-
tyr. In another church, there are Crisantus, and Daria,
and Saturninus, and Maurus, and Jason, and their mother
Hilaria, and others innumerable. And in another church,
St. Alexander, Vitalis, Martialis, sons of St. Felicity; and
seven holy virgins, Saturnina, Hilarina, Duranda, Rogan-
tina, Serotina, Paulina, Donata. Next the church of St.
Silvester, where he lies under a marble tomb; and the
martyrs, Celestinus, Philippus, and Felix; and there too,
the Three Hundred and Sixty-five martyrs rest in one
sepulchre; and near them lie Paulus and Crescentianus,
Prisca and Semetrius, Praxides and Potentiana.

The fifth is called the Numentanf gate. There lies St.
Nicomede, priest and martyr ; the way too is called by the
same name. Near the road are the church and body of St.
Agnes ; in another church, St. Ermerenciana, and the
martyrs, Alexander, Felix, Papias ; at the seventh stone on
this road rests the holy pope Alexander, with Euentius and
Theodolus.

The sixth is the Tiburtine § gate and way, which is now
called St. Lawrence's : near this way lies St. Lawrence in
his church, and Habundius the martyr: and near this, in
another church, rest these martyrs, Ciriaca, Romanus, Justi-
nus, Crescentianus ; and not far from hence the church of
St. Hyppolitus, where he himself rests, and his family,
eighteen in number ; there too repose, St. Trifonia, the wife

* The Two Hundred and Sixty are said to have been shot with arrows
in the amphitheatre, by order of Claudius. The Thirty suffered under
Diocletian. t Porta Salaria.

Z Porta Pia. § Porta di San Lorenzo.

B B

370 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b.iv.c.2

of Decius, and his daughter Cirilla, and her nurse Con-
cordia. And in another part of this way is the church of
Agapit the martyr.

The seventh is called, at present, the Greater gate,* for-
merly the Seracusan, and the way the Lavicanian, which
leads to St. Helena. Near this are Peter, Marcellinus,
Tyburtius, Geminus, Gorgonius, and the Forty Soldiers,f
and others without number; and a little farther the Four
Coronati.J |

The eighth is the gate of St. John,§ which by the an- ^
cients was called Assenarica. The ninth gate is called Me-
trosa ;|| and in front of both these runs the Latin way. The
tenth is called the Latin gate,^ and way. Near this, in one
church, lie the martyrs, Gordianus and Epimachus, Sulpi-
cius, Servilianus, Quintinus, Quartus, Sophia, Triphenus.
Near this too, in another spot, TertuUinus, and not far
distant, the church of St. Eugenia, in which she lies, and
her mother Claudia, and pope Stephen, with nineteen of his
clergy, and Nemesius the deacon.

The eleventh is called the Appian gate** and way. There
lie St. Sebastian, and Quirinus, and originally the bodies of
the apostles rested there. A little nearer Rome, are the
martyrs, Januarius, Urbanus, Xenon, Quirinus, Agapetus,
Felicissimus ; and in another church, Tyburtius, Valerianus,
Maximus. Not far distant is the church of the martyr Ce-
cilia; and there are buried Stephanus, Sixtus, Zefferinus,
Eusebius, Melchiades, Marcellus, Eutychianus, Dionysius.
Antheros, Pontianus, pope Lucius, Optacius, Julianus, Calo-
cerus, Parthenius, Tharsicius, Politanus, martyrs: there too
is the church and body of St. Cornelius: and in another
church, St. Sotheris: and not far off, rest the martjTs,
Hippolytus, Adrianus, Eusebius, Maria, Martha, Paulina,
Valeria, Marcellus, and near, pope Marcus in his church.

• Porta Maggiore.

t The Forty Soldiers suffered martyrdom under Licinius at Sebastia in
Armenia.

X So called, because for a long time after they had suffered martyrdom
(martyrio coronati) their names were vmknown ; and though afterwards
their real names were revealed to a certain priest, yet they still continued
to retain their former designation. § Porta di San Giovanni.

II There is no notice of this in Lumisden: it is probably now destroyed.

il Porta Latina. ** Porta di San Sebastiano.

AD- 1097.] DESCRIPTION OP ROME. 371

Between the Appian and Ostiensian way, is the Ardeatine
way, where are St. Marcus, and Marcellianus. And there
lies pope Damasus in his church ; and near him St. Petron-
illa, and Nereus, and Achilleus, and many more.

The twelfth gate and way is called the Ostiensian, but, at
present, St. Paul's,* because he lies near it in his church.
There too is the martyr Timotheus : and near, in the church
of St. Tecla, are the martyrs Felix, Audactus, and Neme-
sius. At the Three Fountains^ is the head of the martyr
St. Anastasius.

The thirteenth is called the PortuanJ gate and way; near
which in a church are the martyrs, Felix, Alexander, Ab-
don and Sennes, Symeon, Anastasius, Polion, Vincentius,
Milex, Candida, and Innocentia.

The fourteenth is the Aurelian§ gate and way, which
now is called the gate of St. Pancras, because he lies near it
in his church, and the other martyrs, Paulinus, Arthemius,
St. Sapientia, with her three daughters. Faith, Hope, and
Charity. In another church, Processus and Martinianus;
and, in a third, two Felixes ; in a fourth Calixtus, and Cale-
podius; in a fifth St. Basilides. At the twelfth milliary
witliin the city, on Mount Celius, are the martyrs Johannes,
and Paulus, in their dwelling, which was made a church
after their martyrdom; and Crispin and Crispinianus, and
St. Benedicta. On the same mount, is the church of St.
Stephen, the first martyr ; and there are buried the martyrs
Primus, and Felicianus; on Mount Aventine St. Boniface;
and on Mount Nola, St. Tatiana, rests.

Such are the Roman sanctuaries ; such the sacred pledges
upon earth : and yet in the midst of this heavenly treasure,
as it were, a people drunk with senseless fury, even at the
very time the crusaders arrived, were disturbing everything
with wild ambition, and, when unable to satisfy their lust of
money, pouring out the blood of their fellow citizens over
the very bodies of the saints. || The earls, confiding then

* Porta di San Paolo.

+ Aquas Saluias, now Trefontane. The tradition is, that St. Paul was
beheaded on this spot: that his head, on touching the ground, rebounded
twice,, and that a fountain immediately burst forth from each place where
it fell. See Lumisden. X Porta Portese. § Porti di San Pancrazio.

I) Sacred places and bodies of saints long since deceased, are but feeble
safeguards against the outbreak or even moderate agency of human pas-
B B 2

372 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. rv. c. i

in Urban's benediction, having passed through Tuscany and
Campania, came by Apulia to Calabria, and would have
embarked immediately had not the seamen, on being con-
sulted, forbade them, on account of the violence of the
southerly winds. In consequence, the earls of Normandy
and Blois passed the winter there ; sojourning each among
their friends, as convenient. The earl of Flanders, alone,
ventured to sea, experiencing a prosperous issue to a rash
attempt: wherefore part of this assembled multitude re-
turned home through want; and part of them died from
the unwholesomeness of the climate. The earls who re-
mained however, when by the vernal sun's return they saw
the sea sufficiently calm for the expedition, committed them-
selves to the ocean, and, by Christ's assistance, landed safely
at two ports. Thence, through Thessaly, the metropolis of
which is Thessalonica, and Thracia, they came to Constan-
tinople. Many of the lower order perished on the march
through disease and want; many lost their lives at the De-
vil's Ford, as it is called from its rapidity ; and more indeed
would have perished, had not the advanced cavalry been
stationed in the river, to break the violence of the current ;
by which means the lives of some were saved, and the rest
passed over on horseback. The whole multitude then, to
solace themselves for their past labours, indulged in rest
for fifteen days, pitching their camp in the suburbs of the
city ; of which, as the opportunity has presented itself, I
shall briefly speak.

Constantinople was first called Byzantium : which name is
still preserved by the imperial money called Bezants. St.
Aldhelm, in his book On Virginity,* relates that it changed
its appellation by divine suggestion : his words are as follow.
As Constantine was sleeping in this city, he imagined that
there stood before him an old woman, whose forehead was
furrowed with age; but, that presently, clad in an imperial
robe, she became transformed into a beautiful girl, and so
fascinated his eyes, by the elegance of her youthful charms,
that he could not refrain from kissing her : that Helena, his
mother, being present, then said, " She shall be yours for

Bions, which, in every country and under every form of superstition, act
always in the same way.

• Aldhelmi Opera, page 28.

A.P. 1197.] CONSTANTINOPLE ITS ORIGIN. 373

ever ; nor shall she die, till the end of time." The scluticn
of this dream, when he awoke, the emperor extorted from
heaven, by fasting and almsgiving. And behold, within
eight days, being cast again into a deep sleep, he thought
he saw pope Silvester, who died some little time before,
regarding his convert* with complacency, and saying, " You
have acted with your customary prudence, in waiting for a
solution, from God, of that enigma which was beyond the
comprehension of man. The old woman you saw, is this
city, worn down by age, whose time-struck walls, menacing
approaching ruin, require a restorer, But you, renewing
its walls, and its affluence, shall signalize it also with your
name; and here shall the imperial progeny reign for ever.
You shall not, however, lay the foundations at your own
pleasure ; but mounting the horse on which, when in the
novitiate of your faith, you rode round the churches of the
apostles at Rome, you shall give him the rein, and liberty
to go whither he please : you shall have, too, in your hand,
your royal spear, f whose point shall describe the circuit of
the wall on the ground. You will be regulated, therefore,
in what manner to dispose the foundations of the wall by
the track of the spear on the earth."

The emperor eagerly obeyed the vision, and built a city
equal to Rome ; alleging that the emperor ought not to reign
in Rome, where the martyred apostles, from the time of
Christ, held dominion. He built in it two churches, one
of which was dedicated to peace ; the other to the apostles ;
bringing thither numerous bodies of saints, who might con-
ciliate the assistance of God against the incursions of its
enemies. He placed in the circus, for the admiration and
ornament of the city, the statues of triumphal heroes
brought from Rome, and the tripods from Delphi; and
the images of heathen deities to excite the contempt of
the beholders. They relate that it was highly gratifying
to the mind of the emperor, to receive a mandate from
heaven, to found a city in that place, where the fruitful-
ness of the soil, and the temperature of the atmosphere
conduced to the health of its inhabitants: for as he was

* The story of Silvester's having baptized Constantine is considered aa
altogether unfounded. See Mosheim, vol. i.

t This, in Aldhelm, is the Labarum, or imperial standard.

374 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT, [b. tv. c. 2.

born in Britain,* he could not endure the burning heat of
the sun. But Thracia is a province of Europe, as the poets
observe, extremely cool, "From Hebrus* ice, and the Bis-
tonian north ;" and near to Moesia, where, as Virgil remarks,
"With wonder Gargara the harvest sees.""!" Constantinople,
then, washed by the sea, obtains the mingled temperature
both of Europe and of Asia ; because, from a short distance,
the Asiatic east tempers the severity of the northern blast.
The city is surrounded by a vast extent of walls, yet the
influx of strangers is so great, as to make it crowded. In
consequence they form a mole in the sea, by throwing in
masses of rock, and loads of sand; and the space obtained
by this new device, straitens the ancient waters. The sea
wonders to see fields unknown before, amid its glassy waves ;
and surrounds and supplies its city with all the conveniences
of the earth. The town is encompassed on every side, ex-
cept the north, by the ocean, and is full of angles in the
circuit of its walls, where it corresponds with the windings
of the sea ; which walls contain a space of twenty miles in
circumference. The Danube,;^ which is Kkewise called the
Ister, flows in hidden channels under ground, into the city ;
and on certain days being let out by the removal of a plug,
it carries off the filth of the streets into the sea. All vied
with the emperor in noble zeal to give splendour to this city,
each thinking he was bound to advance the work in hand:
one contributing holy relics, another riches, Constantine all
things.

After Constantine the Great, the following emperors reigned
here. Constantine his son ; Julian the Apostate ; Jovinian,
Valens, Theodosius the Great ; Arcadius, Theodosius the
Younger ; Marchianus, Leo the First ; Zeno, Anastasius,
Justin the Great ; Justinian, who, famed for his literature and
his wars, built a church in Constantinople to Divine Wisdom ;
that is, to the Lord Jesus Christ, which he called Hagia
Sophia ; a work, as they report, surpassing every other

* The place of his birth is contested. f Geor. i. 103.

Z " The Danube empties itself through six mouths into the Euxine. The
river Lycus, formed by the conflux of two little streams, pours into the
harbour of Constantinople a perpetual supply of fresh water, which serves
to cleanse the bottom, and to invite the periodical shoals of fish to seek
their retreat in the capacious port of Constantinople." — Hardy.

*..D. 1097.J EMPERORS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 375

edifi(*e in the world, and where ocular inspection proves it
superior to its most pompous descriptions : Justin the
Younger ; Tiberius, Mauricius, the first Greek ; Focas,
Heraclius, Heracleonas, Constans, Constantine, the son of
Heraclius ; who, coming to Rome, and purloining all the
remains of ancient decoration, stripped the churches even of
their brazen tiles, anxiously wishing for triumphal honours,
at Constantinople, even from such spoils as these ; his
covetousness, however, turned out unfortunately for him, for
being shortly after killed at Syracuse, he left all these
honourable spoils to be conveyed to Alexandria by the Sara-
cens ; Constantine, Leo the Second ; Justinian, again Justi-
nian, Tiberius, Anastasius, Philippicus, Theodosius, Leo the
Third ; all these reigned both at Constantinople and at
Rome : the following in Constantinople only ; Constantine,
Leo, Constantine, Nicephorus, Stauratius, Michael, Theophi-
lus, Michael, Basiliia^ Leo, Alexander, Constantine, two
Romanuses, Nicephorus, Focas, Johannes, Basilius, Roma-
nus, Michael, Constantine, Theodora the empress, Michael,
Sachius, Constantine, Romanus, Diogenes, Nicephorus, Bu-
thanus, Michael ;* who, driven from the empire by Alexius,
secretly fled to Guiscard in Apulia, and surrendering
to him his power, imagined he had done something pre-
judicial to Alexius : hence Guiscard's ambition conceived
greater designs; falsely persuading himself that he might
acquire by industry, what the other had lost by inactivity :
how far he succeeded, the preceding book hath explained.
Li the same city is the cross of our Saviour, brought by
Helena from Jerusalem. There too rest the apostles, An-
drew, James the brother of our Lord ; Matthias : the pro-
phets Elizeus, Daniel, Samuel, and many others : Luke the
Evangelist : martyrs innumerable : confessors, Johannes
Chrysostom, Basilius, Gregorious Nazianzen, Spiridion : vir-
gins, Agatha, Lucia ; and lastly all the saints whose bodies
the emperors were able to collect thither out of every
country.

The earls, then, of Normandy and Blois, did homage to
the Greek. For the earl of Flanders had already passed on,

* After all the researches of the last fifty years, the " Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire," by Gibbon, will be found to contain the best
history of these Byzantine emperors.

376 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. [b. iv.c.2.

disdaining to perform this ceremony, from the recollection
that he was freely born and educated. The others, giving
and receiving promises of fidelity, proceeded in the first v/eek
of June to Nice, which the rest had already besieged from
the middle of May. Uniting, therefore, their forces, much
carnage ensued on either side ; since every kind of weapon
could easily be hurled by the townsmen on those who were
beneath them ; and the arm even of the weakest had effect
on persons crowded together. Moreover the Turks dragged
up, with iron hooks, numberless dead bodies of our people,
to mangle them in mockery; or to cast them down again
when stripped of their raiment. The Franks were grieved
at this : nor did they cease venting their rage by slaughter,
till the Turks, wearied by extremity of suffering, on the day
of the summer solstice, surrendered themselves to the empe-
ror by means of secret messengers. He, who knew only
how to consult his own advantage, gave orders to the Franks
to depart : choosing rather, that the city should be reserved
for the undisguised disloyalty of the Turks, than the dis-
trusted power of the Franks. He ordered, however, silver
and gold to be distributed to the chiefs, and copper coin to
those of inferior rank, lest they should complain of being
unrewarded. Thus the Turks, who, passing the Euphrates,
had now for the space of fifty years been possessed of
Bithynia, which is a part of Asia Minor that is called Roma-
nia, betook themselves to flight to the eastward. Neverthe-
less, when the siege was ended, they attempted, at the insti-
gation of SoUman,* who had been sovereign of all Romania,
to harass the army on its advance. This man collecting, as
is computed, three hundred and sixty thousand archers,
attacked our people, expecting anything rather than hostility,
with such violence, that overwhelmed with an iron shower of
arrows, they were terrified and turned their backs. At that
time, by chance, duke Godfrey and Hugh the Great, and
Raimund, had taken another route, that they might plunder
the enemies' country to a wider extent, and obtain forage
with more facility. But the Norman, sensible of his extreme

* His Turkish name was Killidge-Arslan : his kingdom of Romn ex-
tended from the Hellespont to the confines of Syria, and barred the pil-
grimage of Jerusalem. (See De Guignes, torn. iii. p. 2, pp. 10 — 30.)—
Hardy.

A.D.1097O SIEGE OF NICE. 377

danger, by means of expeditious messengers on a safe track,
acquainted Godfrey and the rest of the approach of the
Turks. They without a moment's delay, turned against the
enemy, and delivered their associates from danger. For
these were now indiscriminately slaughtered in their tents,
unprepared for resistance, and filling the air with prayers and
lamentations. Nor did the enemy take any particular aim.
but trusting his arrows to the wind, he never, from the
thickness of the ranks, drew his bow in vain. What alone
retarded destruction was, that the attack took place near a
thicket of canes, which prevented the Turks from riding full
speed. At length, however, perceiving the advanced guard
of the approaching chiefs, the Christians left the thicket,
and shouting the military watch-word, " It is the will of
God,"* they attack the scattered ranks of the enemy, making
a signal to their companions, at the same time to assail them
in the rear. Thus the Turks, pressed on either side, forth-
with fled, shrieking with a dreadful cry, and raising a yell
which reached the clouds. Nor had they recourse to their
customary practice of a flying battle, but throwing down
their bows, they manifested, by a flight of three successive
days, something greater than mere human apprehension.
Nor was there, indeed, any persop to follow them ; for our
horses, scarce able to support life on the barren turf, were
unequal to a vigorous pursuit : showing immediately their
want of strength by their panting sides. Asia was formerly,
it is true, a land most fruitful in corn ; but, both in distant
and in recent times, it had been so plundered by the savage
Turks, that it could scarcely sufiice for the maintenance of a
small army, much less of a multitude, so vast as to threaten
devouring whole harvests and drinking rivers dry. For,
when they departed from Nice, they were still estimated at
seven hundred thousand : of the remainder, part had been
wasted by the sword, part by sickness, and still more had
deserted to their homes.

• When Urban II addressed the multitude from a lofty scaffold in the
market-place of Clermont, inciting the people to undertake the crusade, he
was frequently interrupted by the shout of thousands in their rustic idiom
exclaiming " Deus lo vult !" " It is indeed the will of God !" replied the
pope ; and let those words, the inspiration surely of the Holy Spirit, be
for ever adopted as your war-cry." — IIardt.

378 WILLUM OF MALMESBURT. [b. iv. c 2.

Thence, then, they arrived at Heraclea by the route of
Antioch and Iconium, cities of Pisidia. Here they beheld in
the sky a portent fashioned like a flaming sword ; the point
of which extended towards the east. All the period from
the kalends of July, when they left Nice, till the nones of
October, had elapsed when they arrived at Antioch in Syria.
The situation of this city, I should describe, had not my wish
in this respect been anticipated by the eloquence of Ambro-
sius in Hegesippus : * were I not also fearful, that I may be
blamed for the perpetual digressions of my narrative. Still,
however, I will relate so much as the labour I have under-
taken seems to require.

Antioch, which was named after his father, Antiochus, by
Seleucus, king of Asia, is surrounded with a vast wall, which
even contains a mountain within it. Next to Rome, and
Constantinople, and Alexandria, it obtains precedence over
the cities of the world. It is secure by its walls, lofty from
its situation ; and if ever taken, must be gained more by in-
genuity than force. The nearest river to it, which I learn
is now called Fervus, though originally Orontes, falls into
the sea twelve miles from the city ; its tide impetuous, and
growing colder from its violence, ministers to the health of
the inhabitants by its effect on the atmosphere. Capable too
of receiving supplies by shipping for the service of its citi-
zens, it can at all times mock the perseverance of its besiegers.
Here the venerable title of Christian was first conceived :
hence, first St. Paul, the spring and spur of this religion,
went forth to preach ; here the first pontific seat was filled
by St. Peter; in honour to whom the church there founded
remained uninjured through the whole domination of the
Turks : and equally also did another, consecrated in honour
of St. Mary, strike the eyes of beholders with its beauty, ex-
citing wonder that they should reverence the church of him
whose faith they persecuted.

This city, then, the Franks invested from October till
June ; f pitching their tents around the walls after they had

* Hegesippus, a Greek author of the second century, wrote an account
of the Jewish war, and of the destruction of Jerusalem ; said to have been
translated into Latin by St. Ambrose. He also wrote an ecclesiastical his-
tory, in five books, a fragment of which onlv remains.

t " The siege of Antioch commenced on the 21st of October, 1097, an!
ended 3rd June, 1098-"— HARDy.

AD. 1097.] SIEGE OF ANTIOCH. 379

passed the river. Foreseeing, however, the difficulty of tak-
ing it, and judging it expedient to provide against the cow-
ardice of certain of their party, the chiefs, in common, took
an oath, that they would not desist from the siege till the
city should be taken by force or by stratagem. And, that
they might more easily complete their design, they built many
fortresses on this side of the river, in which soldiers were
placed to keep guard. Aoxianus, too, the governor of the
city, observing that the Franks acted neither jestingly nor
coldly, but set heartily to besiege it, sent his son Sansadol to
the Sultan, emperor of Persia, to make known the boldness
of the Franks, and to implore assistance. Sultan among the
Persians implies the same as Augustus among the Romans :
Commander of all the Saracens, and of the whole east. I
imagine this empire has continued so long, and still increases,
because the people, as I have related, are unwarlike; and
being deficient in active blood, know not how to cast off
slavery, when once admitted ; not being aware, as Lucan
says,* that

" Arms were bestowed that men should not be slaves."

But the western nations, bold and fierce, disdain long-con-
tinued subjugation to any people whatever ; often delivering
themselves from servitude, and imposing it on others. More-
over, the Roman empire first declined to the Franks, and
after to the Germans : the eastern continues ever with the
Persians.

Sansadol therefore being despatched to the chief of this
empire, hastened his course with youthful ardour, while his
father was by no means wanting to the duties of a com-
mander, in the protection of the city. The valour of the
besieged was not content merely to defend their own party,
but voluntarily harassed ours ; frequently and suddenly
attacking them when foraging or marketing : for, making a
bridge of the vessels they found there, they had established
a mart beyond the river. Through Christ's assistance, there-
fore, becoming resolute, they seized their arms, and boldly
repelled their enemies, so that they never suffered them to
reap the honour of the day. To revenge this disgrace, the
Turks wreaked their indignation on the Syrian and Arme-
* Pharsalia, iv. 579.

380 WILLIAM OF MALMESBTTRY. [B.nr.aZ.

nian inhabitants of the city ; throwing, by means of their
balistae* and petraries, the heads of those whom they had
slain into the camp of the Franks, that by such means they
might wound their feelings.

And now, everything which could be procured for food
being destroyed around the city, a sudden famine, which
usually makes even fortresses give way, began to oppress
the army ; so much so, that the harvest not having yet at-
tained to maturity, some persons seized the pods of beans
before they were ripe, as the greatest delicacy : others fed
on carrion, or hides soaked in water ; others passed parboiledf
thistles through their bleeding jaws into their stomachs.
Others sold mice, or such like dainties, to those who required
them ; content to suffer hunger themselves, so that they
could procure money. Some, too, there were, who even fed
their corpse-like bodies with other corpses, eating human
flesh ; but at a distance, and on the mountains, lest others
should be offended at the smell of their cookery. Many
wandered through unknown paths, in expectation of meeting
with sustenance, and were killed by robbers acquainted with
the passes. But not long after the city was surrendered.

For Boamund, a man of superior talents, had, by dint of
very great promises, induced a Turkish chief,:]: who had tac
custody of the principal tower, on the side where his stati >n
lay, to deliver it up to him. And he, too, to palliate the
infamy of his treachery by a competent excuse, gave his son
as an hostage to Boamund ; professing that he did so by th^
express command of Christ, which had been communicated
to him in a dream. Boamund, therefore, advanced his troops
to the tower, having first, by a secret contrivance, obtained
from the chiefs the perpetual government of the city, in case
he could carry it. Thus the Franks, in the dead of the
night, scaling the walls by rope ladders, and displaying on
the top of the tower the crimson standard of Boamund, re-
peated with joyful accents the Christian watchword, " It is
the will of God ! It is the will of God !" The Turks

* The balista was a warlike engine for casting either darts or stones : the
petrary, for throwing large stones only.

t Owing to the scarcity of fuel.

J " Phirouz, a Syrian renegade, has the infamy of this perfidious and
foul treason." — Hardy.

A.D. 1397.J ANTIOCH SURRENDERED. 381

awaking, and heavy from want of rest, took to flight through
narrow passages ; and our party, following with drawn
swords, naade dreadful slaughter of the enemy. In this flight
fell Aoxianus, governor of the city, being beheaded by a cer-
tain Syrian peasant : his head, when brought to the Franks,
excited both their laughter and their joy.

Not long rejoicing in this complete victory, they had the
next day to lament being themselves besieged by the Turks
from without. For the forces which had been soKcited by
Sansadol were now arrived under the command of Cor-
baguath, an eastern satrap, who had obtained from the em-
peror of Persia three hundred thousand men.* under twenty-
seven commanders. Sixty thousand of these ascended over
the rocks to the citadel, by desire of the Turks, who still
remained in possession of it. These woefully harassed the
Christians by frequent sallies : nor was there any hope left,
but from the assistance of God, since want was now added
to the miseries of war — want, the earliest attendant on great
calamities. Wherefore, after a fast of three days, and ear-
nest suppHcations, Peter the hermit was sent ambassador to
the Turks, who spake with his usual eloquence to the follow-
ing effect : " That the Turks should now voluntarily evacu-
ate the Christian territory, which they had formerly unjustly
invaded ; that it was but right, as the Christians did not
attack Persia, that the Turks should not molest Asia ; that
they should therefore, either by a voluntary departure, seek
their own country, or expect an attack on the following
morning ; that they might try their fortune, by two, or four,
or eight, that danger might not accrue to the whole army."

Corbaguath condescended not to honour the messenger
even with a reply; but playing at chess and gnashing his
teeth, dismissed him as he came ; merely observing, " that
the pride of the Franks was at an end." Hastily returning,

* " In describing the host of Corbaguath, most of the Latin historians, the
author of the Gesta, (p. 17,) Robertus monachus, (p. 56,) Baldric, (p. 3,)
Fulcherius Camotensis, (p. 392,) Guibert, (p. 512,) William of Tyre, (lib.
vi. c. 3, p. 714,) Bemardus Thesaurarius, (c. 39, p. 695,) are content with
the vague expressions of ' iniinita multitude, ' ' immensum agmen,' *innu-
meree copiae,' ' innumerae gentes.' The numbers of the Turks are fixed by
Albertus Aquensis at two hundred thousand, (lib. iv. c. 10, p. 242,) and
by Radulphus Cadomensis (c. 72, p. 309) at four himdred thousand horse
(Gib. Decl. Rom. Emp. vii. pp. 364, 5.)" — Hardy.

882 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. [b, iv. c. 8.

Peter apprised the army of the insolence of the Turk. Each
then animating the other, it was publicly ordered, that every
persen should, that night, feed his horse as plentifully as
possible, lest he should falter from the various evolutions of
the following day. And now the morning dawned, when,
drawn up in bodies, they proceeded, with hostile standard,
against the enemy. The first band was led by the two
Roberts, of Normandy and Flanders, and Hugh the Great ;
the second by Godfrey ; the third by the bishop of Puy ; the
reserve by Boamund, as a support to the rest. Raimund
continued in the city, to cover the retreat of our party, in
case it should be necessary. The Turks, from a distance,
observing their movements, were, at first, dubious what they
could mean. Afterwards, recognizing the standard of the
bishop, for they were extremely afraid of him, as they said
he was the pope of the Christians and the fomenter of the
war ; and seeing our people advancing so courageously and
quickly, they fled ere they were attacked. Our party, too,
exhilarated with unexpected joy, slew them as they were
flying, as far as the strength of the infantry, or exertion ol
the cavalry, would permit. They imagined, moreover, that
they saw the ancient martyrs, who had formerly been
soldiers, and who had gained eternal remuneration by their
death, I allude to George and Demetrius, hastily approaching
with upraised banner from the mountainous districts, hurling
darts against the enemy, but assisting the Franks. Nor is it
to be denied, that the martyrs did assist the Christians, as
the angels formerly did the Maccabees, fighting for the self-
same cause. Returning, then, to the spoil, they found in
their camp sufiicient to satisfy, or even totally to glut, the
covetousness of the greediest army. This battle took place
A. D. 1098, on the fourth before the kalends of July ; for the
city had been taken the day before the nones of June. Soon
after, on the kalends of the ensuing August, the bishop of
Puy, the leader of the Christians, and chief author of this
laudable enterprise, joyfully yielded to the common lot of
mortals ; and Hugh the Great, by permission of the chiefs,
as it is said, returned to France, alleging as a reason, the per-
petual racking of his bowels.

But when, by a long repose of seven months at Antioch,
they had obliterated the memory of their past labours, they

».D.1099.] APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. 383

began to think of proceeding on their route. And first of all
Raimund, ever unconscious of sloth, ever foremost in mili-
tary energy ; and next to him the two Roberts, and Godfrey,
proceeded upon the march. Boamund alone, for a time,
deferred his advance, lured by the prospect of a magnificent
city and the love of wealth. A plausible reason, however,
lay concealed beneath his covetousness, when he alleged, that
Antioch ought not to be exposed to the Turks without a
chief, as they would directly attack it. He therefore took
up his residence in the city ; and this harsh governor drove
Raimund's followers, who occupied one of the streets, with-
out the walls.

The others, however, passing through Tripoli,* and Berith,
and Tyre, and Sidon, and Accaron, and Caiphas, and Cae-
sarea of Palestine, where they left the coast to the right
hand, came to Ramula; being kindly received by some of
the cities, and signalizing their valour by the subjugation of
others. For their design was to delay no longer, as it was
now the month of April, and the produce of the earth had
become fully ripe. Ramula is a very small city, without
walls : if we credit report, the place of the martyrdom of St,
George ; whose church, originally founded there, the Turks
had somewhat defaced : but at that time, through fear of the
Franks, they had carried off their property and retreated to
the mountains. The next morning, at early dawn, Tancred,
the nephew of Boamund, a man of undaunted courage, and
some others, taking arms, proceeded to Bethlehem, desirous
of exploring its vicinity. The Syrians of the place, who
came out to meet them, manifested their joy with weeping
earnestness, through apprehension for their safety, on account
of the smallness of their numbers ; for few more than a hun-
dred horsemen were of the party. But our people having
suppliantly adored the sacred edifice, f immediately stretch
anxiously forward towards Jerusalem. The Turks, confi-
dent of their force, fiercely salHed out, and for some time
skirmished with our troops, for the whole army had now

* The greatest part of their march is most accurately traced in Maun-
drell's Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem. — Hardy.

+ The church of St. Mary, at Bethlehem, contained within its walls a
sort of grotto, in which it was pretended Christ was bom. — See Bede, de
Locis Sanctis.

384 WILLIAM OP MALMESBUHY. [b. iv. c 2.

come up ; but they were soon repulsed by the exertions of
the Franks, and sought security from their encircling walls.

The numbers who have already written on the subject,
admonish me to say nothing of the situation and disposition
of Jerusalem, nor is it necessary for my narrative to expa-
tiate on such a field. Almost every person is acquainted
with what Josephus, Eucherius, and Bede, have said: for
who is not aware, that it was called Salem from Melchisedec ;
Jebus from the Jebusites ; Jerusalem from Solomon ? Wha
has not heard how often, falling from adverse war, it buried
its inhabitants in its ruins, through the different attacks of
Nabugodonosor, of Titus, or of Adrian? It was this last
who rebuilt Jerusalem, called -^Ua, after his surname, en-
closing it with a circular wall, of greater compass, that it
might embrace the site of the sepulchre of our Lord, which
originally stood without : Mount Sion, too, added to the city,
stands eminent as a citadel. It possesses no springs;* but
water, collected in cisterns, prepared for that purpose, sup-
plies the wants of the inhabitants : for the site of the city,
beginning from the northern summit of Mount Sion, has so
gentle a declivity, that the rain which falls there does not
form any mire, but running like rivulets, is received into
tanks, or flowing through the streets, augments the brook
Kedron. Here is the church of our Lord, and the temple,
which they call Solomon's, by whom built is unknown, but
religiously reverenced by the Turks; more especially the
church of our Lord, where they daily worshipped, and pro-
hibited the Christians from entering, having placed there a
statue of Mahomet. Here also is a church of elegant work-
manship, containing the holy sepulchre, built by Constantine
the Great, and which has never suffered any injury from the
enemies of our faith, through fear, as I suppose, of being
struck by that celestial fire which brightly shines in lamps,
every year, on the Vigil f of Easter. When this miracle had

* " Jerusalem was possessed only of the torrent of Kedron, dry in sum-
mer, and of the little brook or spring of Siloe, (Reland, tom. i. pp. 294,
300), Tacitus mentions a perennial fountain, an aqueduct, and cisterns of
rain-water. The aqueduct was conveyed from the rivulet Tekoe, or
Etham, which is likewise mentioned by Bohadin, (in Vit. Saladin. p. 238.)"
Hardy.

t It was pretended that the lamps in the church of the Holy Sepulchre
were miraculously ignited on Easter Eve.

AD. 1099.] PATRIAECHS OF JERUSALEM. 385

a beginning, or whether it existed before the times of the
Saracens, history has left no trace. I have read in the
writings of Bernard* the monk, that about two hundred and
fifty years ago, that is, a. d. 870, he went to Jerusalem and
saw that fire, and was entertained in the Hospital which the
most glorious Charles the Great had there ordered to be
built, and where he had collected a library at great expense.
He relates, that both in Egypt and in that place, the Chris-
tians, under the dominion of the Turks, enjoyed such secu-
rity, that if any traveller lost a beast of burden by accident
in the midst of the high road, he might leave his baggage
and proceed to the nearest city for assistance, and without
doubt find every thing untouched at his return. Still, from
the suspicion that they might be spies, no foreign Christian
could live there securely, unless protected by the signet of
the emperor of Babylon. The natives purchased peace from
the Turks at the expense of three talents or bezants an-
nually. But as Bernard mentions the name of Theodosius,
the then patriarch, this gives me an occasion of enumerating
the whole of the patriarchs.

James the brother of our Lord and son of Joseph ; Simon
son of Cleophas, the cousin of Christ, for Cleophas was the
brother of Joseph; Justus, Zaccheus, Tobias, Benjamin,
Johannes, Maccabaeus, Philip, Seneca, Justus, Levi, Effrem,
Jesse, Judas ; these fifteen were circumcised : Mark, Cas-
sian, Publius, Maximus, Julian, Gains ; who first celebrated
Easter and Lent after the Roman manner : Symmachus,
Gains, Julian, Capito, Maximus, Antonius, Valens, Docilia-
nus, Narcissus, Dius, Germanio, Gordius, Alexander, Maza-
banus, L-meneus, Zabdas, Ermon, Macharius; in his time
the Holy Cross was found by St. Helena: Cyriacus, Max-
imus, Cyrillus, who built the church of the Holy Sepulchre,
and of Mount Calvary, and of Bethlehem, and of the Valley
of Jehosaphat. All these were called bishops. After them

* Bernard, with two companions, sailed fi-om Italy to Alexandria, and
travelled thence by land to Jerusalem in the year 870. Their travels are
printed in " Mabillon's Acta Benedictinorum." The accomit is short, but
has several interesting particulars. There is also a good MS. in the British
Museum, Bib. Cott. Faust, b. 1, where, by a mistake of the scribe, it is
dated a. d. 970, but this is clearly wrong, for Bernard mentions Lewis, king
of Italy, as then living, and he died a. d. 875.

C C

386 "WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT. [riv. c.2.

arose the patriarchs : Cyrillus the first patriarch ; Johannes,
Prailius, Juvenalis,* Zacharias, in whose time came Cosdroel
king of Persia to Jerusalem, and destroyed the churches of
Judea and Jerusalem, and slew with his army six and thirty
thousand of the Christians: Modestus, who was appointed
patriarch by the emperor Heraclius, when he returned victo-
rious from Persia : Sophronius, in whose time the Saracens
came and thrust out all the Christians from Jerusalem, except
the patriarch, whom they suffered to remain out of reverence
to his sanctity : this was the period when the Saracens over-
ran the whole of Egypt, and Africa, and Judea, and even Spain,
and the Balearic Isles. Part of Spain was wrested from them
by Charles the Great, but the remainder, together with the
countries I have enumerated, they have possessed for nearly
five hundred years, down to the present day: Theodorus,J
Ilia, Georgius, Thomas, Basilius, Sergius, Salomontes,
Theodosius, whom Bernard relates to have been an abbat,
and that he was torn from his monastery, which was fifteen
miles distant from Jerusalem, and made patriarch of that
city : then too they say that Michael was patriarch in Baby-
lon over Egypt, the patriarchate of Alexandria being re-
moved thither : Ilia, Sergius, Leonthos, Athanasius, Christo-
dolus, Thomas, Joseph, Orestes; in his time came Sultan
Achim, the nephew of the patriarch Orestes, from Babylon,
who sent his army to Jerusalem, destroyed all the churches,
that is to say, four thousand, and caused his uncle, the patri-
arch, to be conveyed to Babylon and there slain : Theophilus,
Nicephorus: he built the present church of the Holy
Sepulchre, by the favour of Sultan Achim : Sophronius ; in
his time the Turks, coming to Jerusalem, fought with the
Saracens, killed them all, and possessed the city; but the
Christians continued there under the dominion of the Turks :
Cuthimus, Simeon ; in whose time came the Franks and laid

* Some MSS. insert the name of another John after Juvenalis, but no
patriarch of this name is known to have lived at that period. Malmesbury
has, moreover, omitted the names of eleven patriarchs, between Juvenal,
who died a.d. 458, and Zacharias who died a.d. 609.

t Cosroes, or Chosroes the Second, king of Persia.

t " The church of Jerusalem was vacant eifter the death of Sophronius,
A.D. 644, until the year 705, when John V succeeded, whom Theodorua
followed, A.D. 754." — Hakot.

*.«. 099.1 THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM. 387

siege to Jerusalem, and rescued it from the hands of the
Turks and of the king of Babylon.

In the fourth year, then, of the expedition to Jerusalem,
the third after the capture of Nice, and the second after
that of Antioch, the Franks laid siege to Jerusalem, — a city
well able to repay the toils of war, to soothe its labours, and
to requite the fondest expectation. It was now the seventh
day of June, nor were the besiegers apprehensive of want-
ing food or drink for themselves, as the harvest was on the
ground, and the grapes were ripe upon the vines ; the care
alone of their cattle distressed them, which, from the nature
of the place and of the season, had no running stream to
support them, for the heat of the sun had dried up the
secret springs of the brook Siloah, which, at uncertain
periods, used to shed abroad its refreshing waters. This
brook, when at any time swollen with rain, increases that of
Kedron ; and then passes on, with bubbling current, into the
valley of Jehosaphat. But this is extremely rare ; for there
is no certain period of its augmentation or decrease. In
consequence, the enemy, suddenly darting from their caverns,
frequently killed our people, when straggling abroad for the
purpose of watering the cattle. In the meantime the chiefs
were each observant at their respective posts, and Raymond
actively employed before the tower of David.* This fortress,
defending the city on the west, and strengthened, nearly half
way up, by courses of squared stone soldered with lead,
repels every fear of invaders when guarded by a small party
within. As they saw, therefore, that the city was difficult
to carry on account of the steep precipices, the strength of
the walls, and the fierceness of the enemy, they ordered
engines to be constructed. But before this, indeed, on the
seventh day of the siege, they had tried their fortune by
erecting ladders, and hurling swift arrows against their oppo-
nents : but, as the ladders were few, and perilous to those
who mounted them, since they were exposed on all sides and
nowhere protected from wounds, they changed their desigr.
There was one engine which we call the Sow, the ancients,
Vine a ; because the machine, which is constructed of

* " The tower of David was the old tower Psephina or Neblosa ; it was
likewise called Castelliim Pisanum, from the patriarch Daimbert. (D'An-
Txlle, pp. 19—2 5.)" — Hardy.

C C 2

388 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. iv. c 2i

slight timbers, the roof covered with hoards and wicker-
work, and the sides defended with undressed hides, protects
those who are within it, who, after the manner of a sow,
proceed to undermine the foundations of the walls. There
was another, which, for want of timber, was but a moderate
sized tower, constructed after the manner of houses :* they
call it Berefreid: this was intended to equal the walls in
height. The making of this machine delayed the siege, on
account of the unskilfulness of the workmen and the scarcity
of the wood. And now the fourteenth day of July arrived,
when some began to undermine the wall with the sows,
others to move forward the tower. To do this more con-
veniently, they took it towards the works in separate pieces,
and, putting it together again at such a distance as to be out
of bowshot, advanced it on wheels nearly close to the
wall. In the meantime, the slingers with stones, the archers
with arrows, and the cross-bow -men with bolts, each intent
on his own department, began to press forward and dislodge
their opponents from the ramparts ; soldiers, too, unmatched
in courage, ascend the tower, waging nearly equal war
against the enemy with missile weapons and with stones.
Nor, indeed, were our foes at all remiss ; but trusting their
whole security to their valour, they poured down grease and
burning oil upon the tower, and slung stones on the soldiers,
rejoicing in the completion of their desires by the destruc-
tion of multitudes. During the whole of that day the battle
was such that neither party seemed to think they had been
worsted ; on the following, which was the fifteenth of July,
the business was decided. For the Franks, becoming more
experienced from the event of the attack of the preceding
day, threw faggots flaming with oil on a tower adjoining
the wall, and on the party who defended it, which, blazing
by the action of the wind, first seized the timber and then
the stones, and drove off" the garrison. Moreover the beams
which the Turks had left hanging down from the walls in
order that, being forcibly drawn back, they might, by their
recoil, batter the tower in pieces in case it should advance
too near, were by the Franks dragged to them, by cutting
away the ropes; and being placed from the engine to the

• That is to say, with several floors or apartments, one above the other ;
each of which contained soldiers.

A.D 1099.] CAPTUKE OF JERUSALEM. 389

wall, and covered with hurdles, they formed a bridge of com-
munication from the ramparts to the tower. Thus what the
infidels had contrived for their defence became the means of
their destruction; for then the enemy, dismayed by the
smoking masses of flame and by the courage of our soldiers,
began to give way. These advancing on the wall, and
thence into the city, manifested the excess of their joy by
the strenuousness of their exertions. This success took
place on the side of Godfrey and of the two Roberts ; Ray-
mond knew nothing of the circumstance, till the cry of the
fugitives and the alarm of the people, throwing themselves
from the walls, who thus met death while flying from it,
acquainted him that the city was taken. On seeing this, he
rushed with drawn sword on the runaways, and hastened to
avenge the injuries of God, until he had satiated his own
animosity. Moreover, adverting to the advantages of quiet
for the moment, he sent unhurt to Ascalon five hundred
Ethiopians, who, retreating to the citadel of David, had
given up the keys of the gates under promise of per-
sonal safety. There was no place of refuge for the Turks,
so indiscriminately did the insatiable rage of the victors
sweep away both the suppliant and the resisting. Ten thou-
sand were slain in the temple of Solomon; more were
thrown from the tops of the churches, and of the citadel.
After this, the dead bodies were heaped and dissolved into
the aery fluid by means of fire ; lest putrifying in the open
air, they should pour contagion on the heavy atmosphere.
The city being thus expiated by the slaughter of the infidels,
they proceeded with hearts contrite and bodies prostrate to
the sepulchre of the Lord, which they had so long earnestly
sought after, and for which they had undergone so many
labours. By what ample incense of prayer, they propitiated
heaven, or by what repentant tears they once again brought
back the favour of God, none, I am confident, can describe ;
no, not if the splendid eloquence of the ancients could revive
or Orpheus himself return ; who, as it is said, bent e*en the
listening rocks to his harmonicjus strain. Be it imagined
then, rather than expressed.

So remarkable was the example of forbearance exhibited
by the chiefs, that, neither on that, nor on the following day,
did any of them, through lust of spoil, withdraw his mind

390 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. B. it. c 2

from following up the victory. Tancred alone, beset with
ill-timed covetousness, caiTied off some valuable effects from
the temple of Solomon ; but, afterwards, reproved by his
own conscience, and the address of some other persons, he
restored, if not the same things, yet such as were of equal
value.* At that time, if any man, however poor, seized a
house, or riches of any kind, he did not afterwards encountei
the brawlings of the powerful, but held, what he had once
possessed, as his hereditary right. Without delay, then,
Godfrey, that brilliant mirror of Christian nobility, in
which, as in a splendid ceiHng, f the lustre of every virtue
was reflected, was chosen king ; | all, in lively hope, agree-
ing, that they could in no wise better consult the advantage
of the church ; deferring, in the meantime, the election of a
patriarch, who was to be appointed by the determination of
the Roman Pontiff. §

But the emperor of Babylon, not the city built by Nimrod
and enlarged by Semiramis and now said to be deserted, but
that which Cambyses, son of Cyrus, built in Egypt, on the
spot where Taphnis formerly stood : the emperor of Babylon,
I say, venting his long-conceived indignation against the
Franks, sent the commander of his forces, to drive them, as
he said, out of his kingdom. Hastening to fulfil the command,
when he heard that Jerusalem was taken, he redoubled his
diligence, though he had by no means been indolent before.
The design of the barbarian was to besiege the Christians in
Jerusalem, and after the victory, which he, falsely presaging,
already obtained in imagination, to destroy utterly the sepul-
chre of our Lord. The Christians, who desired nothing less
than again to endure the miseries of a siege, taking courage
through God's assistance, march out of the city towards
Ascalon, to oppose the enemy ; and carry with them part of
the cross of Christ, which a certain Syrian, an inhabitant of

* Interested motives and conduct, it is to be observed, are several times
imputed to the adventurers from Sicily and Calabria.

+ In allusion to the custom of painting and gilding the ceilings.

:J: Godfrey would not, howevei, accept the name of king, nor wear a
crown of jewels in a city where his Saviour had been crowned with thorns.
He therefore contented himself with the title of " Defender and Baron of
the Holy Sepulchre."

$ Pope Urban however died fourteen days after the taking of Jerusa'.cm.
Daibert was appointed patriarch of the captured city.

A.D. 10990 BATTLE OF ASCALON. 391

Jerusalem, had produced, as it had been preserved in his
house, in succession from father to son. This truly was a
fortunate and a loyal device, that the secret should be all
along kept from the Turks. Obtaining moreover a great
booty of sheep and cattle, near Ascalon, they issued a
general order, to leave the whole of it in the open plaia
lest it should be an impediment when engaging the next
morning, as they would have spoil more than enough if they
conquered, so that, free from incumbrance, they might
avenge the injuries of heaven. In the morning, therefore,
as the army was on its march, you might see, I believe by
divine instinct, the cattle with their heads erect, proceeding
by the side of the soldiers, and not to be driven away by any
force. The enemy perceiving this at a distance, and their
sight being dazzled by the rays of the sun, lost their
confidence, ere the battle could commence, as they thought
the multitudg of their opponents was countless : yet were
they, themselves, by no means deficient in numbers, and by
long exercise, trained to battle. They endeavoured therefore
to hem in the Franks, who were proceeding at a slow rate,
by dividing their force into two bodies, and by curving their
wings. But the leaders, and more especially Robert the
Norman, who was in the advanced guard, eluding stratagem
by stratagem, or rather cunning by valour, led on their
archers and infantry, and broke through the centre of the
heathens. Moreover the Lorraine cavalry, which was
stationed with its commander in the rear, advancing by
the flanks, prevented their flight, and occupied the whole
plain. Thus the Turks, penetrated in the front, and hemmed
in on every side, were slain at the pleasure of the victors ;
the remainder escaping through favour of approaching night.
Many golden utensils were found in their camp ; many
jewels, which, though from their scarcity unknown in our
country, there shine in native splendour. Nor was there
ever a more joyful victory for the Christians, because they
obtained the most precious spoil without loss.

Returning therefore to Jerusalem, when, by a rest of
many days, they had recruited their strength, some of them,
sighing for their native country, prepared to return by sea.
Godfrey and Tancred only remained ; princes, truly noble,
and, to whose glory, posterity, if it judge rightly, never can

392 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. Lb. iv. t ?

set limits : men, who, from the intense cold of Europe,
plunged into the insupportable heat of the East : prodigal
of their own lives, so that they could succour suffering
Christianity. Who, besides the fears of barbarous incursions,
in constant apprehension from the unwholesomeness of an
unknown climate, despised the security of rest and of health
in their own country ; and although very few in number,
kept in subjection so many hostile cities by their reputation
and prowess. They were memorable patterns, too, of trus^.
in God ; not hesitating to remain in that climate, where they
might either suffer from pestilential air, or be slain by the
rage of the Saracens. Let the celebration of the poets then
give way ; nor let ancient fiction extol her earliest heroes.
No age hath produced aught comparable to the fame of these
men. For, if the ancients had any merit, it vanished after
death with the smoke of their funeral pile ; because it had
been spent, rather on the vapour of earthly reputation, than
in the acquisition of substantial good. But the utility of
these men's valour will be felt, and its dignity acknowledged,
as long as the world shall continue to revolve, or pure
Christianity to flourish. What shall I say of the good order
and forbearance of the whole army ? There was no gluttony ;
no lewdness, which was not directly corrected by the
authority of the commanders, or the preaching of the bishops.
There was no wish to plunder as they passed through the
territories of the Christians ; no controversy among them-
selves, which was not easily settled by the examination of
mediators. Wherefore, since the commendation of an army
so well-ordered redounds to the glory of its conductors, I
will signalize, in my narrative, the exploits and the adven-
tures of each respective chief ; nor will I subtract any thing
from the truth, as I received it on the faith of my relators.
But let no one who has had a fuller knowledge of these
events, accuse me of want of diligence, since we, who are
secluded on this side of the British ocean, hear but the faint
echo of Asiatic transactions.

King Godfrey takes the lead in my commendation : he
was the son of Eustace count of Boulogne, of whom I have
spoken in the time of king Edward, but more ennobled matern-
ally, as by that line he was descended from Charles the
Great. For, his mother, named Ida, daughter of the ancient

A.D. 1099.J GODFREY OF BOUILLON. 393

Godfrey duke of Lorraine, had a brother called Godfrey after
his father, surnamed Bocard. This was at the time when
Robert Friso, of whom I have spoken above, on the death of
Florence, duke of Friesland, married his widow Gertude ;
advancing Theodoric, his son-in-law, to the succession of the
duchy. Bocard could not endure this ; but expelling Friso,
subjected the country to his own will. Friso, unable to re-
venge himself by war, did it by stratagem ; killing Bocard
through the agency of his Flemings, who drove a weapon
into his posteriors, as he was sitting for a natural occasion.
In this manner the son-in-law succeeded to the duchy, by
the means of his father-in-law. The wife of this Godfrey
was the marchioness Matilda, mentioned in the former book,
who on her husband's death spiritedly retained the duchy, ir
opposition to the emperor ; more especially in Italy, for of
Lorraine and the hither-countries he got possession. Ida
then, as I began to relate, animated her son Godfrey with
great expectations of getting the earldom of Lorraine : for the '
paternal inheritance had devolved on Eustace her eldest son ;
the youngest, Baldwin, was yet a boy. Godfrey arriving at
a sufficient age to bear arms, dedicated his services to the
emperor Henry, who is mentioned in the preceding book.
Acquiring his friendship, therefore, by unremitting exertions,
he received from the emperor's singular liberality the whole
of Lorraine as a recompence. Hence it arose, that when the
quarrel broke out between the pope and Henry, he went with
the latter to the siege of Rome ; was the first to break
through that part of the wall which was assigned for his
attack, and facilitated the entrance of the besiegers. Being
in extreme perspiration, and panting with heat, he entered a
subterraneous vault which he found in his way, and when he
had there appeased the violence of his thirst by an excessive
draught of wine, he brought on a quartan fever. Others say
that he fell a victim to poisoned wine, as the Romans, and
men of that country, are used to infect whole casks. Others
report, that a portion of the walls fell to his lot, where the
Tiber flowing, exhales destructive vapours in the morning ;
that by this fatal pest, all his soldiers, with the exception of
ten, lost their lives ; and that himself, losing his nails and
his hair, never entirely recovered. But be it which it might
of these, it appears that he was never free from a sV)W fever,

394 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. iv. c. 2.

until hearing the report of the expedition to Jerusalem, he
made a vow to go thither, if God would kindly restore his
health. The moment this vow was made, the strength of the
duke revived ; so that, recovering apace, he shook disease
from his Hmbs, and rising with expanded breast, as it were,
from years of decrepitude, shone with renovated youth. In
consequence, grateful for the mercies of God showered down
upon him, he went to Jerusalem the very first, or among the
first ; leading a numerous army to the war. And though he
commanded a hardy and experienced band, yet none was
esteemed readier to attack, or more efficient in the combat
than himself Indeed it is known, that, at the siege of An-
tioch, with a Lorrainian sword, he cut asunder a Turk, who
had demanded single combat, and that one half of the man
lay panting on the ground, while the horse, at full speed,
carried away the other : so firmly the miscreant sat.
Another also who attacked him he clave asunder from the
neck to the groin, by taking aim at his head with a sword ;
nor did the dreadful stroke stop here, but cut entirely through
the saddle, and the back-bone of the horse. I have heard a
man of veracity relate, that he had seen what I here subjoin :
during the siege, a soldier of the duke's had gone out to
forage ; and being attacked by a lion, avoided destruction for
some time, by the interposition of his shield. Godfrey,
grieved at this sight, transfixed the ferocious animal with a
hunting spear. Wounded, and becoming fiercer from the
pain, it turned against the prince with such violence as to
hurt his leg with the iron which projected from the wound ;
and had he not hastened with his sword to rip it up, this
pattern of valour must have perished by the tusk of a wild
beast. Renowned from these successes, he was exalted to be
king of Jerusalem, more especially because he was con-
spicuous in rank and courage without being arrogant. His
dominion was small and confined, containing, besides the few
surrounding towns, scarcely any cities. For the king's bad
state of health, which attacked him immediately after the
Babylonish war, caused a cessation of warhke enterprise ; so
that he made no acquisitions : yet, by able management, he
so well restrained the avidity of the barbarians for the whole
of that year, that nothing was lost. They report that the
king, from being unused to a state of indolence, fell again

A.D. 1100.] BALDWIN. 395

into his original fever ; but I conjecture, that God, in his
own good time, chose early to translate, to a better kingdom,
a soul rendered acceptable to him and tried by so many
labours, lest wickedness should change his heart, or deceit
beguile his understanding. Revolving time thus completing
a reign of one year, he died placidly, and was buried on
Mount Golgotha ;* a king as unconquerable in death, as he
had formerly been in battle ; often kindly repressing the tears
of the by-standers. Being asked who was to succeed him,
he mentioned no person by name, but said merely, " whoever
was most worthy." He never would wear the ensign of
royalty, saying, " it was too great arrogance for him to be
crowned for glory, in that city, in which God had been
crowned in mockery." He died on the fifteenth before the
kalends of August.

On Godfrey's decease, Tancred and the other chiefs de-
clared that Baldwin, his brother, who was at that time settled
in Mesopotamia, should be king : for Eustace, the elder
brother, who came to Jerusalem with Godfrey, had long since
returned to his native land. The acts of Baldwin shall be
related briefly, but with unsullied truth ; supported in their
credibility by the narrative of Fulcherf of Chartres, who
was his chaplain, and wrote somewhat of him, in a style, not
altogether unpolished, but, as we say, without elegance or
correctness, and which may serve to admonish others to write
more carefully. Baldwin, undertaking the holy pilgrimage
with the rest, had for companions many knights of dispo-
sition similar to his own. Confiding in these associates, he
began to levy fresh troops for his purpose ; to watch for
brilliant opportunities wherein to manifest his prowess : and,
finally, not content with that commendation which was com-
mon to all, leaving the rest and departing three days' journey
from Antioch, he got possession, by the consent of its in-
habitants, of Tarsus, a noble city of Cilicia : Tarsus, for-
merly the nursing-mother of the apostle Paul, in honour of
whom the cathedral there is dedicated. The Tarsians volun-

* The church of Golgotha contains within it the rock on which the
cross was fixed for the crucifixion. Bede, Eccles. Hist. p. 264.

+ Fulcher wrote an account of the transactions in Syria, where he was
present, from a.d. to 1095 to 1124. Malmesbury condenses much of his
narrative with his usual ability. It is printed in the Gesta Dei per Francos.
and, ap. Duchesne Hist. Franc. Scriptor. torn. iii.

396 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b iv. a 2

tarily submitted to his protection, as they were Christians,
and hoped by his aid to be defended from the Turks. The
Cilicians, therefore, eagerly yielded to his power, more espe-
cially after the surrender of Turbexhel, a town by situation
impregnable, to whose sovereignty the inferior towns look
up. This being yielded, as I have said, the others followed
its decision. And -not only Cilicia, but Armenia, and Meso-
potamia, eagerly sought alliance with this chief : for these
provinces were almost free from the domination of the Turks,
though infested by their incursions. Wherefore the prince
of the city of Edessa, who was alike pressed by the hatred
of the citizens and the sword of the enemy, sent letters to
Baldwin, descriptive of his difficulties, desiring him to come
with all speed, and receive a compensation for the labour of
his journey, by his adoption, as he had no issue of either sex.
This is a city of Mesopotamia in Syria, very noted for the
fruitfulness of its soil and for the resort of merchants, twenty
miles distant from the Euphrates, and a hundred from
Antioch. The Greeks call it Edessa ; the Syrians Rothasia.
Baldwin, therefore, exacting an oath of fidelity from the
ambassadors, passed the Euphrates with only sixty-nine
horsemen : a wonderful instance, it may be said, either of
fortitude, or of rashness, in not hesitating to proceed among
the surrounding nations of barbarians, whom any other per-
son, with so small a force, would have distrusted either for
their race or their unbelief. By the Armenians and Syrians,
indeed, coming out to meet him on the road with crosses and
torches, he was received with grateful joy, and kindly enter-
tained. But the Turks, endeavouring to attack his rear, were
frustrated in all their attempts by the skill of Baldwin :
the Samosatians setting the first example of flight. Samo-
sata is a city beyond the Euphrates, from which arose Paul
of Samosata,* the confutation of whose heresy, whoever
is desirous may read in the History of Eusebius. And, if I
well remember, Josephus says, that Antony was laying siege

* Paul was bishop of Antioch in the third century. ''He was better
pleased with the title of ducenarius than with that of bishop. His heresy,
like those of Noetus and Labellius in the same century, tended to confound
the mysterious distinction of the Divine persons. He was degraded from
his see in 270, by the sentence of eighty bishops, and altogether deprived
of his office in 274 by Aurelian (Modieim's Ecc. Hist, vol, i. p. 702, &c.)'*
—Hardy.

A.D. 1100.1 Baldwin's march to Jerusalem. 397

to this city, when Herod came to him. The Turks inhabit-
ing that city then, who were the first instigators of outrage
against the Franks, were the first to give way. Thus,
Baldwin, coming safely to Edessa, found nothing to disap-
point his expectations : for being received with surpassing
favour by the prince, and soon after, on his being killed by
his faithless citizens, obtaining the lawful sovereignty of the
city, for the whole time during which the Franks were
labouring at Antioch and at Jerusalem, he was not free from
hostilities ; worsting his opponents in repeated attacks.

But in the month of November, being reminded by Boa-
mund, prince of Antioch, that they should enter on their
progress to Jerusalem, he prepared for marching, and by
the single display of the white standard, which was his
ensign in battle, overthrowing the Turks who had broken
the peace on his expected departure, he left Antioch to the
right; and came to Laodicea. Here, by the liberality of
earl Raymond, who presided over the city, getting, at a
cheap rate, a sufficiency of supplies for his people, he
passed Gribellura, and followed the recent track of Boa-
mund, who had encamped and awaited him. Daibert, arch-
bishop of Pisa, joined them for the march: he had landed
his confederate party at Laodicea, as did also two other
bishops. These forces when united were estimated at five
and twenty thousand; many of whom, when they entered
the territories of the Saracens, were, through the scarcity
of commodities, overtaken by famine, and many were dis-
mounted, from their horses being starved. Their distress
was increased by an abundance of rain ; for in that country
it pours down like a torrent in the winter months only. In
consequence, these poor wretches, having no change of gar-
ments, died from the severity of the cold; never getting
under cover during several successive days. For this ca-
lamity, indeed, there was no remedy, as there was a de-
ficiency both of tents and of wood: but they in so^o^a
measure appeased their hunger, by constantly chewin'-^imed
sweet reeds, which they call cannamel;* so deno-solutely
from cane and honey. Thus, twice only, obtaini'^he place,

rmation: for
* The sugar cane. " This kind of herb is annually cultj^jj there is a
labour. When ripe they pound it in a mortar, straini u \
put it in vessels until it coagulates, and hardens in appt ^ Steep preci-

398 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [u. it. c 2.

saries at an exorbitant price from the inhabitants of Tripoli
and Caesarea, they came to Jerusalem on the day of the
winter solstice. They were met at the gates by king God-
frey with his brother Eustace, whom he had detained till
this time, who showed them every degree of respect and
generosity. Having performed in Bethlehem all the accus-
tomed solemnities of our Lord's nativity, they appointed
Daibert patriarch; to which transaction I doubt not, that
the consent of pope Urban was obtained ; for he was re-
verend from age, eloquent, and rich. After the circumcision
of our Lord, therefore, assuming palms* in Jericho, which
antiquity has made the ensign of pilgrims, each one hastily
endeavoured to reach his home. The cause of their speed
was the stench of the unburied dead bodies, the fumes of
which exhaled in such a manner as to infect the air itself.
In consequence, a contagious pestilence spreading in the
atmosphere, consigned to death many who had recently
arrived. The rest quickened their march, by the cities on
the coast, that is to say, Tiberias and Caesarea Philippi ; for
they were urged by scantiness of provision, and the fear of
the enemy. Their want, as I have said, was remedied by
the celerity of their march ; and to the fury of three hun-
dred soldiers who harassed them from the town of Baldac,
they opposed a military stratagem. For feigning a flight
for a short time, that by leaving the narrow passes them-
selves, they might induce the Turks to enter them, they
retreated purposely, and then returning, routed the strag-
gling enemy at their pleasure. They had supposed our
people unprepared for fight, as their shields and bows were
injured by the excessive rains ; not being aware, that among
men, victory consists not in reliance on excellence of arms,
or of armour, but in the more rcble power of courage, and
of the well-nerved arm.

At that time, indeed, Baldwin returned safely to Edessa,

^^^ Boamund to Antioch. But in the beginning of the

, ^ h of July, a vague report reached the ears of Baldwin,

pleased wi^ brilliant jewel of our commanders was dimmed;

like those of *

the mysterious & ^^^Y ^^ scraped and mixed with bread, or dissolved in water,
his see in 270 by^^^^ Zucra." Albertus Aquensis, ap. Gesta Dei, p. 270.
of his office in 274'^^^*°^y» ^^ *^® completion of their purpose, by having
—Hardy. ilchre. Vide Albert. Aquens. ubi sup. p. 290.

A,D.1100.] BOAMUND TAKEN PRISONER. 399

Boamund being taken, and cast into chains, by one Dariis-
man, a heathen, and a potentate of that country. In con-
sequence, collecting a body of the people of Edessa and
Antioch, he was in hopes of revenging tins singular disgrace
of the Christians. Moreover the Turk, who had taken this
chieftain more by stratagem and chance than by courage or
military force, as he had come with a small party to get
possession of the city of Meletima, aware that the Franks
would use their utmost efforts against him for the disgrace
of the thing, betook himself to his own territories; mar-
shalling his troops, not as though he intended to retreat, but
rather to exhibit a triumph. Baldwin then proceeding two
days' march beyond Meletima, and seeing the enemy decline
the hazard of a battle, thought fit to return ; but first, vTith
the permission of Gabriel the governor, brought over the
city to his own disposal. In the meantime, intelligence
reaching him of his brother's death, and of the general
consent of the inhabitants and chiefs to his election, he
entrusted Edessa to Baldwin, his nearest relation by blood,
and moreover a prudent and active man, and prepared for
receiving the crown of Jerusalem. Wherefore collecting
two hundred horse, and seven hundred foot, he proceeded
on a march pregnant with death and danger ; whence many,
who were falsely supposed faithful, contemplating the bold-
ness of the attempt, clandestinely deserted. He, with the
remainder, marched forward to Antioch, where from the
resources of his sagacious mind, he became the cause of
great future advantage to his distressed people, by advising
them to choose Tancred as their chief. Thence, he came
to Tripoli, by the route of Gibesium and Laodicea. The
governor of this city, a Turk by nation, but, from natural
disposition, rich in bowels of mercy, afforded him the ne-
cessary provisions without the walls; at the same time,
kindly intimating, that he should act cautiously, as Ducach,
king of Damascus, had occupied a narrow pass through
which he had heard he was to march. But he, ashamed
of being moved by the threats of the Saracen, resolutely
proceeded on his destination. When he came to the place,
he perceived the truth of the governor's information: for
about five miles on this side the city of Berith, there is a
very narrow passage near the sea, so confined by steep preci-

400 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT. [b. iv. c. 2

pices, and narrow defiles, that were a hundred men to get
possession of the entrance, they might prevent any number
however great, from passing. Such as travel from Tripoli
to Jerusalem have no possible means of avoiding it. Bald-
win, therefore, arriving on the spot, sent out scouts to exa-
mine the situation of the place, and the strength of the
enemy. The party returning, and hardly intelligible through
fear, pointed out the difiiculty of the pass, and the confidence
of the enemy, who had occupied it. But Baldwin, who fell
little short of the best soldier that ever existed, feeling no
alarm, boldly drew up his army and led it against them.
Ducach then despatched some to make an onset, and lure
the party unguardedly forward; retaining his main body
in a more advantageous position. For this purpose, at first
they rushed on with great impetuosity, and then made
a feint to retreat, to entice our people into the defile.
This stratagem could not deceive Baldwin, who, skilled by
long-continued warfare, made a signal to his men to make
show of flight ; and to induce a supposition that they were
alarmed, he commanded the bag and baggage which they
had cast down, to be again taken up, and the cattle to be
goaded forward, as well as the ranks to be opened, that the
enemy might attack them. The Turks at this began to
exult, and, raging so horribly that you might suppose the
Furies yelling, pursued our party. Some getting into ves-
sels took possession of the shore, others riding forward began
to kill such pilgrims as were incautiously loitering near the
sea. The Franks continued their pretended flight till they
reached a plain which they had before observed. No confu-
sion deprived these men of their judgment ; even the very
emergency by which they had been overtaken nurtured and
increased their daring ; and though a small body, they with-
stood innumerable multitudes both by sea and land. For the
moment it appeared they had sufficiently feigned alarm, they
closed their ranks, turned their standards, and heromed in
the now-charging enemy on all sides. Thus the face of
affairs was changed, the victors were vanquished, and the
vanquished became victors. The Turks were hewn down
with dreadful carnage ; the remainder anxiously fled to their
vessels, and when they had gotten more than a bow-shot out
to sea, they still urged them forward as fiercely with their

A.D.llOO.] DEFEAT OP THE TUEKS. 401

oars, as though they supposed they could be drawn back to
land by the arm of their adversaries. And that you may
not doubt of this miracle as fanciful, but as evident, feel it as
it were, only four Christian soldiers fell in procuring by their
blood this victory to the survivors. Wherefore I assert, that
the Christians would never be conquered by the pagans,
were they to implore the Divine assistance on their courage,
ere they entered the conflict ; and, when in battle, conciliate
the friendly powers of heaven to their arms. But since, in
peace they glut themselves in every kind of vice, and in bat-
tle rely only upon their courage ; therefore it justly happens,
that their valour is often unsuccessful. The earl then, re-
joicing in his splendid victory, on returning to spoil the slain,
found several Turks alive, whom he dismissed without per-
sonal injury, but despoiled them of their wealth. To avoid
any hidden stratagem, he that night retreated with his party,
and rested under the shelter of some olive trees. Next day,
at dawn, he approached the defile, with the light troops, to
be an eye-witness of the nature of the place ; and, finding
everything safe, and making a signal by smoke, as had been
agreed upon, he intimated to his associates the departure of
the enemy ; for the Turks, who the day before were wan-
tonly galloping around the hill, perceiving the carnage of their
companions, had all fled in the dead of the night. Laying
aside every delay, they instantly followed their commander.
The governor of Berith sent them food on their march, as-
tonished at the valour of so small a force. The Tyrians and
Sidonians, and Accaronites, who are also called Ptholoamites,
acted in the same manner, venerating with silent apprehen-
sion the bravery of the Franks. Nor were Tancred's party,
in Caiphas, less generous, although he was absent. The
ancient name of this town I am unable to discover ; because
all the inland cities, which we read of in Josephus as for-
merly existing, are either not in being, or else, changed into
inconsiderable villages, have lost their names ; whereas those
on the coast remain entire. In this manner, by Csesarea of
Palestine, and Azotus, they came to Joppa. Here he was
first congratulated on his kingdom, the citizens with great
joy opening the gates to him.

Being afterwards accompanied by the inhabitants of eToppa
to Jerusalem, where lie was favourably received, he indulged

D D

402 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUBT. [a iv. c. 2.

in a repose of seven days' continuance. Then, that the
Turks might be convinced that the spirit of his reign would
proceed to their signal disadvantage, he led his troops to-
wards Ascalon. When at a short distance from that city,
he proudly displayed his forces, and with very little exertion
compelled the attacking Ascalonites to retreat, by waiting a
favourable opportunity for accomplishing his designs. Fi-
nally, conceiving his glory satisfied for that time by their
repulse, he drew off to the mountains to pursue the enemy,
and also at their expense to procure necessaries for his troops,
who were famished with hunger from the barrenness of the
land : for a scanty harvest had that year denied sustenance ;
deceiving the expectations of the province by a meagre pro-
duce. He ascended therefore the mountainous districts,
whither the Turkish inhabitants of the country had re-
treated on leaving their towns, concealing the Syrians with
them in sequestered caverns. The Franks, however, dis-
covered a mode of counteracting the device of the fugitives,
by letting smoke into their hiding-places ; by which the mis-
creants were dislodged, and came out one by one. The
Turks were killed to a man ; the Syrians spared. The army
turning aside thence, and marching towards Arabia, passed
by the supulchres of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob ; and of their three wives, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.
The place is in Hebron, thirteen miles distant from Jerusa-
lem. For the body of Joseph lies at Neapolis, formerly
called Sichem, covered with white marble, and conspicuous
to every traveller ; there, too, are seen the tombs of his bro-
thers, but of inferior workmanship. The army then came
into the valley where God formerly overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah, darting fire from heaven on the wicked. The
lake there extends for eighteen miles, incapable of support-
ing any living creature, and so horrible to the palate, as to
distort the mouths of such as drink it, and distend their jaws
with its bitter taste. A hill overhangs the valley, emitting,
in various places, a salt scum, and all over transparent, as it
were, with congealed glass- Here is gathered what some
call nitre ; some call it crystal salt. Passing the lake, they
came to a very opulent town, abundant in those luscious
fruits which they call dates ; in devcuring which they were
hardly able to fill the cavities of tht stomach, or constrain

A.D. 1100.1 Baldwin's coronation. 403

the greediness of their palates, they were so extremely sweet.
Every thing else had been taken away, through the alarm of
the inhabitants, except a few Ethiopians, the dark wool of
whose hair resembled smut. Our people, thinking it beneath
their valour to kill persons of this description, treated them,
not with indignation, but with laughter. Adjacent to this
town is a valley, where to this day is seen the rock which
Moses struck, to give water to the murmuring tribes. The
stream yet runs so plentifully, and with such a current, as to
turn the machinery of mills. On the declivity of the hill
stands a church in honour of the legislator Aaron : where,
through the mediation and assistance of his brother, he used
to hold converse with God. Here learning from guides con-
versant in the roads, who from Saracens had been converted
to Christianity, that from hence to Babylon was all barren
country, and destitute of every accommodation, they returned
to Jerusalem, to consecrate to God the first fruits of his
reign, acquired in the subjugation of so many hostile coun-
tries.

The royal insignia being prepared, Baldwin was crowned
with great ceremony, in Bethlehem, on Christmas-day, by
Daibert the patriarch ; all wishing him prosperity. For
both at that time, and afterwards, he deserved, by his own
exertions, and obtained, through the favour of others, every
degree of royal respect, though sovereign of a very small,
and I had ahnost said, a despicable kingdom. Wherefore
the Christians ought to regard the mercy of our Lord Christ,
and to walk in the contemplation of his power, through
whose assistance they were objects of apprehension, though
unable to do harm. For there were scarcely, in the whole
service, four hundred horsemen and so many foot, to garrison
Jerusalem, Ramula, Caiphas, and Joppa. For those who
came thither by sea, with minds ill at ease, amid so many
hostile ports, after having adored the saints, determined to
return home, as there was no possibility of proceeding by
land. Moreover, an additional difficulty was, that in the
month of March Tancred had departed to assume the govern-
ment of Antioch, nor could he or the king aid each other
from the length of the journey : indeed, should necessity re-
quire it, he could not, without fear of irreparable loss, march
his troops from one town to another. I pronounce it there-

dd2

404 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Lb. ir.c.2

fore to be a manifest miracle, that safe alone, through God s
brotection, he was an object of dread to such a multitude of
barbarians.

In this year, which was a.d. 1101, the sacred fire,* which
used to signalize the Vigil of Easter, delayed its appearance
longer than usual. For on the Saturday, the lessons being
read, alternately in Greek and Latin, the "Kyrie eleeson"f
repeated thrice and the melody of the clarions resounding,
still when no fire appeared, and the setting sun induced the
evening and led on the night, then all departed sorrowful to
their homes. It had been determined, after mature delibe-
ration, that on that night no person should remain in the
church of the Holy Sepulchre, for fear any one of infected
conscience should irritate God still more through his irreve-
rent intrusion. But when the twilight was proceeding into
day, a procession of the Latins was ordered to go to the
Temple of Solomon, that by prayer they might call down
the mercy of God: the same was performed around the
Sepulchre of our Lord, by the Syrians plucking their beards
and hair through violence of grief. The mercy of God
could endure no longer, light being instantly sent into one
lamp of the Sepulchre. Which, when a Syrian perceived
glittering through a window, he expressed his joy by the
clapping of his hands, and accelerated the advance of the
patriarch. He, opening the recess of the sepulchral cham-
ber by the keys which he carried, and lighting a taper,
brought forth the celestial gift, J imparting it to all who
crowded round him for that purpose ; afterwards the whole
•of the lamps, throughout the church, were divinely lighted
up, the one which was next to be illumined evincing its
approaching ignition by emitting smoke in a miraculous
manner. Thus, doubtless, the constant manner of Christ
has been to terrify those he loved that he might again kindly
soothe them, and that the dread of his power might redound
to his praise. For since even the common gifts of God are

* See note, p. 384.

t " Lord have mercy upon us," thrice repeated, three times.

t Bernard the monk notices the custom of imparting the holy light, in
order that the bishops and people might illuminate their several residences
from it. Fulcher describes this event at great length, and observes that
each person had a wax taper in his hand for the purpose of receiving the
lioly fire. Gesta Dei, p. 407

AJ). 1102.3 SIEGE OF C^SAREA. 405

Lghtly esteemed by men merely from their constant recur-
rence, he often enhances the grant of his indulgences by
withholding them, that what was most ardently desired
might be more gratefully regarded.

At that time a fleet of Genoese and Pisans had touched at
Laodicea, and thence made a prosperous voyage to Joppa,
and the crews, drawing their vessels on shore, spent Easter
with the king at Jerusalem. He, bargaining for their ser-
vices, engaged to give them the third of the spoil of each
city they should take, and any particular street they might
choose. Thus he impelled them, inconsiderate and blinded,
more through lust of gold than love of God, to barter their
blood, and lay siege immediately to Azotus, which they con-
strained to surrender after three days. Nor did the towns-
people yield very reluctantly, as they feared the anger of the
king should they be taken by storm : for, the preceding year,
assisted by the machination of fortune, they had vigorously
repulsed Godfrey when making a similar attempt. For,
indeed, when by means of scaling ladders he had advanced
his forces on the walls, and they, now nearly victorious, had
gotten possession of the parapet, the sudden fall of a wooden
tower, which stood close to the outside of the wall, deprived
them of the victory and killed many, while still more were
taken and butchered by the cruelty of the Saracens. Leav-
ing Azotus, Baldwin laid siege to Caesarea of Palestine, with
his whole force, and with determined courage ; but perceiv-
ing the resolution of its citizens and the difficulty of the
enterprise, he ordered engines to be constructed. Petraries*
were therefore made, and a great tower built of twenty cubits
in height, surpassing the altitude of the wall. Our people,
however, impatient of delay and of such lingering expecta-
tion, erecting their ladders and attempting to overtop tlie
wall, arrived at the summit by the energy of their efforts,
with conscious valour indignantly raging, that they had now
been occupied in conflict with the Saracens during fifteen
days, and had lost the whole of that time ; and although the
Caesareans resisted with extreme courage, and rolled down
large stones on them as they ascended, yet despising all dan-
ger, they broke through their opponents in a close body, and
fought with an outstretched arm, and a drawn sword. The
* Engines made to cast stones.

406 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b.iv. c.2.

Turks, unable longer to sustain the attack and taking to
flight, either cast themselves down headlong, or fell by the
hand of their enemies. Many were reserved for slavery ; a
few for ransom. Among these was the governor of the city,
and a bishop named Arcadius. The scene was enough to
excite laughter in a by-stander, to see a Turk disgorging
bezants,* when struck on the neck by the fist of a Christian.
The wretched males, through fear of extreme indigence, had
hid money in their mouths ; the females in parts not to be
particularized: you perceive that my narrative blushes to
speak plainly, but the reader understands what I wish, or
rather what I wish not to speak.

Still, however, the emperor of Babylon could not be at
rest, but would frequently send commanders and armies to
attack the Franks. Arriving at Ascalon on ship-board, they
scoured about Ramula, taking advantage of the king's occu-
pation, who was then busied in the contest with Csesarea.
They frequently, therefore, by depopulating the country,
irritated him to engage. But he, with equal subtlety, that
their mad impetuosity might subside, suffered them, when
eagerly advancing, to grow languid by declining battle. By
this procrastination he effected that many, weary of delay,
withdrew, while he attacked the remainder, consisting of
eleven thousand horse and twenty-one thousand infantry,
with his own two hundred and fifty cavalry and less than
seven hundred foot. Addressing a few words to his soldiers,
to whom he pledged victory if they persevered, and fame if
they fell ; and calUng to their recollection that if they fled
France was a great way off, he dashed first against the
enemy ; and the contest continuing for some time, when he
saw his ranks giving way, he remedied circumstances which
seemed almost bordering on desperation. Thus dismaying

* Fulcher relates, with great coolness, that he saw the bodies of the
Turks, who were slain at Caesarea, piled up and burned, in order to obtain
the bezants which they had swallowed. Hist. Hierosol. ap. Du Chesne,
torn. iv. 845. This practice of swallowing money is referred to by pope
Urban, and, by his account, the merely burning dead bodies to obtain the
hoard was a very humble imitation of the Saracen custom, with respect to
those who visited Jerusalem before the crusades ; which was to put scam-
mony in their drink to make them vomit, and if this did not produce the
desired effect, they proceeded to immediate incision! Guibert Abbas.
Opera, p. 379.

*j>.llt)2.] DEFEAT OF THE SARACENS. 407

the Turks by his well-known appearance, he laid their leader
prostrate with his lance ; on whose death the whole battalions
fled. Our soldiers, who in the onset were so hemmed in as
to be unable to see each other, then exercised their valour in
such wise, under the ensign of the Holy Cross which pre-
ceded them, that they killed five thousand. Eighty of the
cavalry and rather more of the infantry were slain on the
side of the Franks. However subsequent successes consoled
them, a« they despatched five hundred Arabian horse. These
had been traversing before Joppa for two days, but effecting
little, they were returning to Ascalon, and seeing our troops
at a distance, and, hoping they were their own, were ap-
proaching to congratulate them on their victory. But at
length perceiving, by the weapons hurled against them, that
they were Franks, they turned pale and, to use the words of
the poet,* became like liim who,

" With unshod foot, had trod upon a snake."

In consequence, enervated with astonishment, they exposed
their backs to their destroyers. Thus the king coming to
Joppa, corrected, by a true account, the falsity of the letter
which had been sent to Tancred by the people of that city,
erroneously declaring that the king had perished with his
army. And, indeed, already had Tancred prepared for his
march to Jerusalem, when a messenger arriving, and show-
ing the royal signet, dispelled his sorrow, and restored his
satisfaction.

It would be tedious, if I were to relate all his contests ;
to tell how he subdued Tiberias, Sidon, Accaron, that is,
Ptolemais, and, ultimately, all the cities on the coast ; or,
how he distinguished almost each day by the slaughter of
the Turks, either through secret attack or open warfare.
The relation of his exploits requires the exclusive labours
of a man who abounds in pompous diction, and undisturbed
leisure : I have neither ; and, what chiefly acts as an obstacle,
want clear information on the subject. For it is by no means
the part of an historian of veracity to give entire credit to
flattering reports, or to deceive the credulity of his readers.
Consequently, I shall only subjoin what I have found
recorded, whereby this man's exalted devotion may be

* Juvenal, Sat. L 43.

408 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY, [b iv. c. I.

clearly proved, and his good report live for ever. This I
may be bold to assert, that he often, with an inconsiderable
force, engaged in mighty conflicts, and that he never fled the
field, except at Ramula and at Accaron. And indeed signal
victories ensued to each of these flights, because they pro-
ceeded more from rash valour, than from fear ; as the reader
will discover from the insertion of a few facts.

In the month of September, on the seventh before the ides
of which the battle aforesaid took place, WilUam, earl of
Poitou, proceeded towards Jerusalem, leading with him
troops estimated at sixty thousand horse and still more foot.
There accompanied him, Stephen, earl of Burgundy, and
Hugh de Lusignan, brother of earl Raymond, Hugh the
Great, and Stephen of Blois, anxious to atone for the
disgrace of their former desertion, by renovated and
determined valour. Proceeding, therefore, by Constanti-
nople, after he had by an insolent answer, as I before
related, offended Alexius, he fell into the snares of
Solyman ; the emperor rather procuring than preventing
his disaster. For Solyman, aware that the army was
suffering from hunger and thirst, as they had been
wandering about the marshes and desolate places for
several days, encountered them with three hundred thousand
archers. Never was there conflict more disastrous to the
Franks ; as it was impossible for flight to save the coward,
or courage to rescue the bold from danger : for the battle
was fought in a confined situation, and nothing could prevent
the effect of clouds of arrows on men who were crowded
together. More than a hundred thousand were slain ; and
all the booty carried off. Thus Solyman, obtaining splendid
offerings to the manes of his countrymen from the spoils of
the Franks, revenged the loss of Nice. But, as they had
proceeded by many roads, all were not slain ; nor was every
thing plundered. For, except the Poitevin, who lost nearly
whatever he possessed, the other earls had boldly defended
their baggage. All, therefore, except Hugh the Great, who
died, and was entombed in the city of Tarsus, collecting again
their soldiers after the flight, hastened to Antioch. Tancred,
a knight of celebrated kindness, gave them ample proof of
his generosity ; assisting them all, as far as he was able, with
money : but more especially William, whom the inconstancy

A-D 1100.] RAMTTLA BESIEGED. 409

of Fortune had now as deeply depressed as she had formerly
highly exalted, who, in addition to the loss of treasure, by
which he was not so much affected as it was transitory and
capable of reparation, was left almost the sole survivor of so
many valorous soldiers. Proceeding on their march with
renovated courage, they sought every opportunity of giving
battle. The city of Tortosa was the first to feel their rage ;
by attacking and plundering which, they in some degree
compensated their former losses. Thence they came to the
defile, which I have mentioned above, where the king had
long awaited them, in order to give assistance in case the
Turks should oppose their passage. Defended by his valour,
and meeting with kind entertainment at Joppa, they pro-
ceeded the following Easter to Jerusalem, where they
joyfully beheld, and reverently adored the sacred fire.
Returning afterwards to Joppa, they took ship, each
designing to revisit his native land. The Poitevin, from
the continued favour of the wind, reached home ; the rest
were violently driven back.

But now, in the beginning of May, the Turks and Arabs
laid siege to Ramula ; recruiting the losses of their army in
the former year, by making up its original numbers. The
bishop of the city, prudently watching an opportunity,
retired from the place and went secretly to Joppa. Baldwin
had already gone out, relying on a false assertion that the
enemy did not exceed five hundred ; in consequence of
which, he neither put his forces in order, nor called out his
infantry, the trumpeters merely sounding for the cavalry to
follow the king ; though his friends earnestly advised him, to
be on his guard against the subtlety of the Turks. The two
Stephens, of Blois and of Burgundy, followed the king on
horseback, that, instead of being branded as indolent and
cowardly, they might return to their respective homes
partakers of the credit of the triumph : far different,
however, from their expectations, were the glory and the
victory which the fates were preparing for them. For
Baldwin, perceiving the multitude of the enemy and
finding himself deceived in his opinion, filled with rage,
and fierce in conscious valour, hesitated what was to be
done. K he gave way, he contemplated the tarnish of his
ancient glory ; if he fought the destruction of his followers.

410 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. iv. c. 2.

Nevertheless, innate courage prevailed, and fear had already
jdelded, when, swayed by the advice of his comrades, he
acquiesced in a plan of retiring, through the midst of the
enemy, into a castle. The rest, following with loud clamour,
broke through the thickest ranks, consecrating their souls to
God, and nobly avenging their deaths. The earls, too, so
wearied with striking that their hands grew stiff upon their
swords, yielded to fate. The king escaping to the fortress,
had some few companions remaining out of the two hundred
he had led forth ; who entreating that he would deign to
protract his life by flight, and observing that their danger
was of little consequence to the world, while his life was of
advantage to many, in as much as he would be an example
of valour to every age, by his singular constancy of mind
though in adverse circumstances, he esteemed himself worthy
to live. Wherefore, accompanied by five knights, he eluded
his assailants, and escaped to the mountains. One of the
five was Robert the Englishman, as I said before ; the
others, from the great distance, report has not brought to
our knowledge : he, with three more, was taken ; the fifth
escaped with the king. The Turks vented the whole of
their fury on those who had retired to the castle, among
whom was Hugh de Lusignan and Geoffrey de Vincennes :
only three survivors told their mournful tale to the people of
Jerusalem. The king, concealing himself during the day,
and, at night, urging his jaded courser through untrodden
paths, arrived at Azotus, by the singular and miraculous
protection of God ; as the Turks had but just departed,
after having been plundering around the city for the space
of two days. Coming thence by sea to Joppa, he despatched
an account of the certainty of his being still living to the
people of Jerusalem. The bearer of the epistle was a low
Syrian fellow, who, even had he been discovered, would
have deceived the enemy, from the meanness of his garb,
and his using the common language of the country.
Escaping the hands of the infidels by lone paths with
which he was acquainted, he arrived the third day at
Jerusalem. Upon this the cavalry who garrisoned the
city, taking with them the bands of auxiliary infantry,
and purposing to proceed to Joppa, took a route close to
the sea ; avoiding the inland districts. The rear, howevcT,

4.D.1113.] Baldwin's marriage. 411

of the party, were cut off, Jby the TuT^s pressing on them ;
as they were left unprotected either by horse or foot. Thus
collecting ninety horse from Jerusalem, and eighty from
Tiberias, which Hugh, that most intrepid commander, had
brought to their assistance, the attendants also, through
necessity, were advanced to the rank of knights. The
battle was delayed only till the next day, the Turks being
DOW so ferocious as to prepare their engines, and to meditate
an attack on the walls of Joppa. This was prevented by
the activity of Baldwin, and by the cross of Christ preceding
them, which had been wanting in the former battle. They
then, with all the force of the kingdom, rushed eagerly on
the enemy, and the contest was fierce : but they, after their
usual custom, surrounding our troops, thought they had
completely overcome the Christians, and shouted with
cheerful cry : V but the Lord Jesus was present ; who, at
length looked down from heaven, and showering courage
on the Franks, put the enemy, driven from the field, to
flight. It had happened in the preceding action, that,
though frequently driven from their tents, they afterwards
conquered through their numbers ; but now, as the infantry
wounded them from a distance with their arrows, and the
cavalry close at hand with their lances, they placed all their
hopes in swiftness, and continued their flight.

He fought another battle in later years, in which our
soldiers, pressed by the numbers of the Turks and compelled
to fly, lost even their protecting standard. But after they
had fled some distance they rallied; shame animating the
timid to repel such ignominy. Then indeed the contest was
strenuous ; fighting foot to foot, and breast to breast. Our
party recovered the cross, routing the enemy, and regaining
the field. Many fell here with whom I had been acquainted ;
among these was Godfrey, Baldwin's bastard-grand-nephew,
who, from a boy, manifested valour in his countenance and
truth in his soul. In the beginning, indeed, both retreats, as
it may be said, were the source of ignominy ; but, in the
end, true food for glory ; the one more celebrated, the other
more advantageous. Finally, to repair his losses, and also
to be united with him in marriage, the countess of Sicily
came shortly after to Jerusalem, pouring such treasures into
the royal palace, that it was matter of surprise, whence a

412 WILLlAil OF MAL5IESBTJRT. [b. iv. c. 2

woman could accumulate such endless heaps of precious
utensils : * and at tliis time, indeed, he received her to his bed,
but shortly after he put her away. It is said that she was
afflicted with a cancerous complaint, which preyed upon her
womb, f This, however, is well known, that the king had
no issue ; nor is it wonderful, that a man, to whom leisure
was burdensome, should be averse to the embraces of a wife,
as he passed all his time in war. By these exertions he
effected, that his admirable and nearly godlike valour should
operate as an incitement to the present race, and be matter
of astonishment to posterity. He died, during an expedition
into Arabia, in the month of April, and was publicly buried
at Jerusalem, near his brother, as the fourth month was
adding to the seventeenth year of his reign. He was a man
who gained his reputation by repeated labours, and on whose
fame envy hath cast no shade, except it be, that he was too
sparing of his money; though there is a ready and well-
founded excuse for such a fault, if it be considered, that the
necessary largesses to such as remained with him, prevented
him from purchasing the favour of those who departed.

He was succeeded by his kinsman, Baldwin, prince of
Edessa, already celebrated for his former campaigns, whom
he had, when dying, named as king. He bravely defended
the kingdom for many years, and augmented it with the sove-
reignty of Antioch, which he obtained when Roger, J the son
of Richard, was killed. He governed both countries with
laudable conduct ; with less presumptuous haughtiness, per-

* Among a variety of instances adduced of her wealth, it is stated, that
the mast of the vessel which conveyed her to Palestine, was covered with
pure gold. Alb. Aquens. ap. Gesta Dei, p. 373.

f Fuicher assigns a different reason for her being divorced. The king,
being extremely ill and thinking he should not survive, recollected that he
had another wife living, to whom he had been previously married at
P^dessa. Du Chesne, t. iv. 864. He had been twice married before.
His first wife, an English woman, accompanied him on the Crusade, and
died in Asia : the second, daughter of Taphnuz, an Armenian nobleman,
following him, by sea, to Jerusalem, was taken by pirates ; and being sus-^
pected of improper conduct during her absence, was, on her arrival at Jeru-
salem, about A. D. 1105, repudiated, and shut up in the convent of St.
Anne. Alb. Aquens. ubi sup. Guib. Abbat. Opera, p. 452.

X " Roger, prince-regent of Antioch, son of Richard, seneschal of
Apulia, married Hodierna, sister of Baldwin II. He was slain in 1119."—
Hardy.

A.D. 1123.] BOAMUND. 413

hapsj but with great and consummate prudence, though
there are some who wound his fair fame, accusing him of
excessive parsimony. Wherefore, last year, when the Turks
had taken him, while riding a short distance from Jerusalem,
his people grieved but little for him, and for nearly a year
it remained unknown, both to subjects and even to tale-
bearers, whither he was taken, or whether or not he breathed
the vital air. However, the people of Jerusalem, nothing
discouraged on account of his absence, refused either to elect
a king or to discontinue the order or command of the
soldiers, till the certainty of the matter could be known. At
last, the place where he lay captive being discovered, some
knights of surpassing boldness, assuming the guise of mer-
chants, and hiding weapons beneath their garments, entered
the town, and rescued the king from jeopardy ; protesting,
that they did not act thus through respect for his niggardli-
ness, but out of gratitude to GozeHn of Turbexhel,* who
never hesitated to bestow all he possibly could upon the
military. He has now lived long, a provident man, and sub-
.ect to no other imputation, f The principality of Antioch
pertains to the son of Boamund, of whom I proceed to speak.
BoamundJ was the son of Robert Guiscard by a Norman
woman ; he had another son named Roger, born of an Apu-
lian, who was, by his father, surnamed " Purse," because his
paternal and attentive observation had discovered, that, from
a mere child, he had pleasui'e in counting money. As to
Boamund, who was somewhat older, he never could retain
anything, but even gave away his childish presents. Roger,
therefore, received Apulia, which seemed to belong to him

• This a<;coimt appears in some measiire incorrect. Gozelin and the
king were both confined in the same castle. On its being seized Gozelin
escaped, and collected troops to liberate his friends, who were now them-
selves besieged. But ere his arrival, the Turks had made themselves
masters of the fortress and carried off the king, who did not recover his
liberty for some time, and then only by paying a considerable ransom.
Fulch. Camot. et Will. Tyr. ap. Gesta J)ei.

t Baldmn died 21st August, a. d. 1131. — Hardy.

t Boamund was baptized Mark; but his father hearing a tale related
of a giant named Buamvmd, gave him that appellation. When, after his
captivity, he retvirned to France, many of the nobility requested him to
stand for their children; this he acquiesced in, and giving them his own
name, it became frequent in these parts, though before nearly unknown in
the West. Ord. Vital, p. 817

414 WILLIAJI OF MAI.MESBURY [b.iv. c.2

in right of his mother: Boamund went with his father to
the Durazzian war. And when the towns-people, through
confidence of their walls, boasted, that the city was called
Durachium,* because it could endure all sieges undismayed ;
and " I," said Guiscard, " am called Durandus ; and I will
endure in besieging, until I take away the name from the
city; so that, henceforth it shall no longer be called Dura-
chium, but MoUucium." The firmness of this answer so
terrified them, that they immediately opened their gates.
Thus, secure in his rear, he subdued, with the less diffi-
culty, the other cities as far as Thessalonica. He had now
arrived there, and had already, both by himself and by his
son, taught Alexius that he might be overcome, when, be-
guiled by the treachery of his wife, he failed, by death, of
a noble enterprise. Boamund, then, returning to Apulia,
possessed some castles through his brother's indulgence, and
acquired many others by his own courage and prudence.
Indeed the dukedom had fallen to his brother only in ap-
pearance; all the most warlike spirits following him. Nor
was this of light importance : for, observant of his father's
purpose, he was averse to Guibert, and strongly espoused
the cause of Urban; urging him, when hesitating, to pro-
ceed into France to the council of Clermont, whither the
letters of Raymond earl of Provence, and of the bishop of
Chorges, invited him. The council being ended, he readily
embraced the opportunity, and transported his forces into
Greece; and thence moving forward his army, he quietly
awaited Raymond and Godfrey. Joining them on their
arrival, he possessed great influence from his military skil\
and from his courage, which was never surpassed. But, a?
what he performed in company with others, only entitles
him to * share in the general praise ; and my former narra-
tive has related how he had been taken prisoner ; it may be
proper to mention in what manner he rescued himself from
captivity. When Danisman perceived that no advantage
resulted to him, from detaining so great a man in confine-
ment, he changed his intentions, and began sedulously to treat
of terms of peace; for he was neither inclined to put him

• There is a play here on the words MoUucium and Diu-achium, in-
tended to imply soft and hard, " mollis " and " durus," which it is not easy
to transJate.

A.D. 1123.] boamjnd's marriage. 41o

to death, lest he should excite the fierce hatred of the
Christians against himself; nor would he set him at liberty,*
without the hope of a lasting peace. Boamund, therefore,
promising the infidel perpetual amity, returned to Antioch,
bringing with him the silver fetters with which he had been
confined; and being favourably received by his people, he
took possession of Laodicea, and the other cities which Tan-
cred, lest he should have been thought slumbering in indo-
lence, whilst his uncle was sighing in prison, had acquired
during his captivity. Not long after he came into France,
offering up, in honour of St. Leonard, the chains with which
he had been burdened; for this saint f is said to be so espe-
cially powerful in loosing fetters, that the captive may freely
carry away his chains, even in the sight of his enemies, who
dare not mutter a syllable. He then married one of the
daughters of the king of France, and sending another to
Tancred, went to Apulia, followed by the French nobility,
who deserted their country in hope of greater advantages,
as well as to be eye-witnesses of what could be effected by
that energetic valour, which was so universally extolled by
fame. Wherefore arranging his affairs in Apulia, he again
burst forth against Alexius ; alleging as a cause of attacking
him, his cruelty to the crusaders, for which he was very
noted. But being deceived by the subtlety of the emperor,
who alienated his commanders from him by bribery, or took
them off by poison, he had little or no success. Dejected at
this, he returned to Apulia, where, in a few days, while pur-
posing to proceed to Antioch, he died, not an old man, yet
equal to any in prudence, leaving a son of tender age. He
was a man firm in adversity, and circumspect in prosperity ;
for he had even provided himself an antidote, when appre-
hensive of poison. It was a knife, which, placed before him
when eating, strange to tell, indicated, by the moistness of

* Orderic. Vital, p. 797, gives a difFerent account of his deliverance,
and which has quite a romantic air.

+ Leonard was godson to Clovis king of France, and obtained, through
the favour of that monarch, that, whenever he should see any one who
was in chains, he should immediately be set at liberty. At length it
pleased God to honour him to that degree, that, if any person in confine-
ment invoked his name, their chains immediately fell off, and they might
depart; their keepers themselves having no power to prevent them. Vide
Surlus, Vitae Sanct. Nov. 6.

416 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUHr. [b. it. c. 2.

its handle, whenever poison was brought into the apartment.
After him Tancred presided over Antioch ; a nephew worthy
of such an uncle. Tancred was removed from this world by
an early death, and Roger the son of Richard succeeded.
Though rivalling the fame of his predecessors in battle, yet
he incurred the disgrace of being avaricious. In conse-
quence of this, when the soldiery avoided him, he engaged
the Turks with a trifling stipendiary, and a small native
force, and fell nobly revenging his death: for being taken
by them, stripped of his armour, and commanded to yield
up his sword ; he refused to deliver it to any but the com-
mander, as he considered all present unworthy to receive the
surrender of so dignified a character. The unhappy chief
gave credit to his specious words, and taking off his helmet,
stretched out his hand to receive Roger's sword. When,
indignant, and mustering all his remaining powers for the
effort, he cut off the Turk's head, and being immediately
stabbed, escaped the disgrace of slavery by the act his
courage had suggested. Baldwin the second, king of Jeru-
salem, revenging his death in a signal manner, faithfully
reserved the dominion of the city, and his daughter, for
Boamund the son of Boamund.

Raymond was the son of the most noble William,* earl of
Toulouse, who, being a man of enterprise and ability, ren-
dered his country' which had been obscured through the in-
dolence of his predecessors, illustrious by his own good
qualities. His wife Almodis was repeatedly married to dif-
ferent persons, and had a numerous issue by them all; a
woman of such sad, unbridled lewdness, that, when one hus-
band became disgusting to her from long intercourse, she
would depart and take up her abode with another : to sum
up all, she had been first united to the earl of Aries ; pre-
sently, becoming weary of him, she connected herself with
William; and then after bearing him two sons, she lured
the earl of Barcelona to marry her. Moreover, William,
when at the point of death, gave to his son of his own name
but not of his own disposition, the county of Toulouse, be-
cause, though he was of slender talents, the people of Tou-
louse would attempt no innovation against him, as they were
accustomed to the government of his family. But Raymond,
♦ He is called Pontius in Bouquet, Rec. 13, 7.

A.D. 1119.1 RAYMOND, EARL OF TOULOUSE. 417

who was of brighter abilities, received Chorges, and increased
it wonderfully by the addition of Aries, Narbonne, Provence,
and Limoges. Again, he purchased Toulouse of his brother
who went to Jerusalem many years previous to the grand
crusade ; but these things were achieved by a considerable
lapse of time, and a life expended on the labour. Thus,
ever engaged in war, he had no desire for a legitimate wife,
enjoying himself in unrestrained concubinage. Finally, he
condescended to honour with his adoption and inheritance,
Bertrand, his son by one of his mistresses, as he, in some
respects, resembled his father. To this son he married the
niece* of Matilda the marchioness, a native of Lombardy,
that by such affinity he might secure his possessions on that
side. In the latter part of his life, too, he himself espoused
the daughter of the king of Tarragona, covenanting for a
noble dowry; namely, the perpetual peace of the adjacent
provinces. Soon after this, on contemplating his grey hairs,
he made a vow to go to Jerusalem, that his bodily powers,
though decayed and feeble, might still, though late, enter
into the service of God. The chief promoter of this was
the bishop of Chorges, by whose especial exertions he had
always been thwarted, and in one contest, had even lost an
eye, which mark of deformity, so far from concealing, he
was ever anxious to show, boasting of it as a proof of his
gallantry. But now, leagued in mutual friendship, that they
might employ their old age in religious services, they stimu-
lated Urban, already inclined to preach the crusade, to pass
the Alps and summon a council at Clermont, more especially
as it was a city adjacent to their territories, and convenient
for persons coming fiom every part of France. The bishop,
however, died on his way to the council. To his influence
succeeded the bishop of Puy, of whom we have before spo-
ken: animated by whose advice, and protected by whose
assistance, Raymond was the first layman who assumed the
cross ; making this addition to his vow, " that he would never
return to his country, but endeavour to lessen the weight of
his past offences by perpetual exertion against the Turks."
He had already given many proofs of his prowess on the
way, — the first to labour and the last to rest ; many also of

• Helenaj daughter of Otho I. duke of Burgundy. Bouquet, Rec. 13, 7.

E E

418 WaLLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Fb ir. c. 5.

forbearance, as he readily relinquished those places he had
first occupied at Antioch to Boamund, and the tower of Da-
vid to Godfrey. But at length, his patience being worn out
by the unreasonable demands of certain persons, he departed
from his usual practice on the subject of the surrender of
Ascalon. For, on the first arrival of the Franks, the towns-
people, examining the disposition of our several commanders,
made choice of him for their patron ; because many men,
who had come thither before by sea, from Montpelier to trade,
had extolled his sincerity and courage to the skies. In con-
sequence, they delivered to him their keys, and compelled
him to make oath that he would never give up the command
of the city to any other of the Christians, should he himself
be either unwilling or unable to retain it. A murmuring
then arose among the chiefs, who required the surrender of
the city to the king ; saying that his kingdom was of little
value, unless he could hold Ascalon, which would be a recep-
tacle for the enemy and an obstacle to our party. The
king, indeed, set forth the matter mildly, as he did everything
else, %vith a placid countenance consistent with his manners ;
the others rather more violently. However, he paid little
attention to their words, obviating their allegations by very
substantial reasons ; saying that all his associates had secured
a place of retreat ; part of them had returned home ; part
were occupying the provinces they had acquired; that he
alone, having abjured his native country, could neither re-
turn thither, nor did he possess a place of refuge here ; that
he had yielded in other points, but they must allow him to
retain Ascalon, under fealty to the Holy Sepulchre, as he
had taken an oath not to give it up. On hearing this, all
began id clamour, and to call him interested and faithless ;
indeed they could scarcely abstain from laying hands on him.
The earl, indignant at this reproach, failed in the duty of a
just and upright man, delivering the keys to the enemies of
God, and compensating the fear of perjury by the blood of
many a man in after time; for to this day that city has
never been taken either by force or by stratagem.

Moreover, many of his people, delighted with the unbounded
alHuence of the place, obtained the friendship of its citizens by
denying their faith. Thus leaving Jerusalem, he came to
Laodicea, and having subdued it, continued there some little

A-.D.1099.] TANCRED-'S DEATH. 419

time. Afterwards, when he had gone to Constantinople,
Tancred obtained Laodicea, though it is dubious whether by
force or favour. In the meantime, remaining at Byzantium,
he contrived by liis consummate prudence to insinuate him-
self into the favour of Alexius. Whence it happened, that,
through the kindness of the emperor, getting a safe passage,
he escaped sharing those calamities which, as we have before
related, befell William of Poitou and the others ; with
whom he took the city of Tortosa, and, when tlie rest pro-
ceeded onwards, retained possession of it. To extend his
power, he fortified a town over against Tripoli, called Pil-
grim's Castle, where he appointed abbat Herbert, bishop.
And that the shattered strength of his followers might re-
cruit by repose, he made a seven years' league with the
Tripolitans. Nevertheless, ere the time appointed, the peace
was broken, on account of a certain townsman being found
within the castle, with a poisoned dagger concealed beneath
his garments. And now truly would he have put the finish-
ing hand to the conquest of Tripoli, had not death, approach-
ing almost immediately, bereft his vital spirit, big with great
achievements. On learning his decease, William of Mont-
pelier, and the other chiefs of the province, provided that
William the Pilgrim, scarcely four years of age, whom he
had begotten on a Spanish woman during the siege, should
be conveyed home, to be educated for the succession, with
the anxious wishes of all. Nor did Bertrand hear of this
transaction with displeasure, although he had never been
consulted, as it enabled him to renew his father's fame.
Wherefore, heading a vast army, and chiefly supported by
the Genoese and Pisans, who were allied to his wife, he
attacked Tripoli by sea and land, and when exhausted by a
protracted siege, reduced it to his dominion. To him suc-
ceeded Pontius, his son by the Lombard ; a youth who
rivalled the glory of his ancestors, and who obtained in
marriage the relict of Tancred, formerly prince of Antioch.
This, when dying, he had commanded ; affirming, that, the
youth would grow up a benefit to the Christians, and an
utter destruction to the Turks. Pontius therefore reigns at
Tripoli, professing himself the servant of the Holy Sepulchre ;
in this respect following the example of his grandfather and
father.

ee2

420 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. iv. c. 2

Robert, son of William the first king of England, was
born in Normandy, and already considered as a youth of ex-
cellent courage, when his father came to England : of tried
prowess, though of small stature and projecting belly. He
passed his early years amid the warlike troops of his father,
obedient to him in every respect : but in the vigorous heat
of youth, led by the suggestions of his idle companions, he
supposed he could obtain Normandy from the king, during
his lifetime. But when William refused this, and drove
away the youth by the blustering of his terrific voice, Robert
departed indignantly, and harassed his country by perpetual
attacks. His father laughed at first, and then added, " By
the resurrection of God, this little Robin Short-boot will be
a clever fellow ;" for such was his appellation, from his
small stature ; though there was nothing else to find fault
Avith ; as he was neither ill-made, nor deficient in eloquence,
nor was he wanting in courage or resources of mind. At
length, however, the king was so transported with anger,
that he denied him his last blessing and the inheritance of
England ; and it was with difficulty, and disgrace, that he
could retain even Normandy. After nine years he gave
proof of his manhood in the labours of the crusade, and in
many instances appeared wonderful, as neither Christian nor
pagan could ever unhorse him : but more especially in the
battle of Antioch, where he graced the victory by a singular
achievement. For when the Turks, as we have related,
were suddenly dismayed and fled, and our party vehemently
attacked them in disorder, Corbanach, their leader, mindful
of his native valour, checked his horse, and rallied his people ;
calling them base slaves, and forgetful of their ancient con-
quests, in sufiering themselves, the former conquerors of the
east, to be driven from their territories by a strange, and
almost unarmed people. At this reproach, many, resuming
their courage, wheeled round, attacked the Franks, and com-
pelled the nearest to give way, while Corbanach continued
to animate his men, and to assault the enemy ; nobly fulfill-
ing his duty, both as a commander and a soldier. But now
the Norman earl and Philip the clerk, son of Roger, earl oi
Montgomery, and Warin de Taney, a castle so named in
Maine, who had before made a feint of retreating, exhorting
each other with mutual spirit, turned round their horses, and

A.D. 1105.] FLIGHT OF THE TURKS. 421

each attacking his man, threw them to the ground. Here
Corbanach, though he knew the earl, yet estimating him
merely by his size, and thinking it inglorious to fly, atoned
for the boldness of attacking him, by a speedy exit ; being
instantly deprived of life. The Turks, who were already
clamouring with boastful joy, on seeing his fall, now lost
their lately-acquired hopes, and redoubled their flight. In
this contest Warin fell : Robert, with Philip, gained the vic-
tory. The latter, who acquired reaiown by this service, but
afterwards, as they report, closed an honourable career at
Jerusalem, was celebrated for his learning as well as his mili-
tary prowess. Robert, thus coming to Jerusalem, tarnished
his glory by an indelible stain, in refusing a kingdom,*
offered to him, as a king's son, by the consent of all ; and
this, as it is asserted, not through awe of its dignity, but
through the fear of endless labour. However, returning
home, where he had reckoned on giving himself up to the
full indulgence of sensual pleasure, God mercifully visited
him, as I believe, for this transgression ; every where
thwarting him, and turning all his enjoyments into bitter-
ness ; as will be manifested by the sequel.

His wife, the daughter of William de Conversano, whom
he had married in Apulia on his return, and whose surpass-
ing beauty, all endeavours to describe are vain, died after a
few years, by disease ;f misled, as it is said, by the advice of
the midwife, who had ordered her breasts, when in child-
bed, to be bound with a tight bandage, on account of the
copious flow of her milk. A great consolation, however, in
this extreme distress, was a son by his consort ; who, called
William by presage of his grandfather's name, gave hope of
noble talents hereafter. The immense sum which his father-
in-law had given him, under the appellation of dowry, that

* None of the original historians of the crusade mention Robert, by
name, as refusing the crown. Henry of Huntingdon however records it,
and Albertus Aquensis observes, that it was first offered to Raymond, earl
of Toulouse, who declining to accept it, and the other chiefs in succession
following his example, Godfrey was, ^vith difficulty, prevailed on to ascend
the throne. Alb. Aquens. 1. vi. c. 33. and Villehardouin, No. 136.

+ " Sibilla, duchess of Normandy, died by poison, according to Orderi-
cus Vitalis, and the Continuator of William of Jumieges. Malmesbury's
account does not appear to be supported by any contemporary testimony."
— Harpy.

422 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. iv c. 2.

he might with it redeem Normandy,* he lavished so pro-
fusely on buffoons, and worthless people, that, in a few days,
he was pennyless. He accelerated his disgrace by his ill-
advised arrival in England, to wrest the kingdom from his
brother Henry ; but, failing of the assistance of the traitors
who had invited him, he easily yielded to his brother's terms
of peace : which, by the agreement of the chiefs of either
party, were, that, he should receive an annual present of
three thousand marks from England. These were mere
words : for the king had promised this without any design
of fulfilling it ; but, aware of his brother's easiness, had de-
luded his soft credulity, till his warlike passion should sub-
side. And he, too, as if contending with fortune whether
she should give or he squander most, discovering the mere
wish of the queen, silently intreating it, kindly forgave the
payment of this immense sum for ever ; thinking it a very
great matter, that female pride should condescend to ask a
favour ; for he was her godfather. Moreover he forgot
offences, and forgave faults beyond what he ought to have
done : he answered all who applied to him, exactly as they
wished ; and that he might not dismiss them in sadness,
promised to give what was out of his power. By this suavity
of disposition, with which he ought to have acquired the
(commendations and the love of his subjects, he so excited the
contempt of the Normans, that they considered him as of no
consequence whatever. For then, all the nobility falling at
variance, plunder was universal, and the commonalty were
pillaged. Although the inhabitants laid their injuries be-
fore the earl, they gained no kind of redress ; for though
incensed at first, yet his anger was soon appeased, either by
a trifling present, or the lapse of time. Roused, however,
by the extremity of their distresses, they determined to implore
the assistance of king Henry to their suffering country. Henry,
according to Caesar's axiom, f " That if justice is ever to be
violated, it ought to be violated in favour of the citizens, and
that you may be observant of duty in other points," transported
his forces several times into Normandy to succour expiring

* " Normandy was only mortgaged for 10,000 marks, about the 100th
part of its present value." — Hardy.

t Cicero de Offic. 1. iii. But Malmesbury seems to have thought it
necessary to soften it ; a» Caesar's axiom says, " for tlie sake of power."

AD. 1105.] STATE OF N0R3IANDY. 423

justice, and at last was successful enough to subjugate the
whole country, with the exception of Rouen, Falaise, and Caen.
Robert was now reduced so low, as to wander,' hardly to be
recognised, through these towns, obtaining a precarious sub-
sistence from the inhabitants. Disgusted at this, the people
of Caen did not long regard their fidelity, but sending mes-
sengers to the king, they closed the gates of their city, with
locks and bolts. Robert learning this, and wishing to escape,
was hardly allowed to depart ; his attendant, with the fur-
niture of his chamber, being detained. Thence flying to
Rouen, he had a conference with his lord, the king of France,
and his relation, the earl of Flanders, on the subject of
assistance ; but obtaining none, he determined, as his last
resource, to risk a general action. In which, through the
persecution of fate, being taken prisoner, he was kept, by
the laudable affection of his brother, in free custody till the
day of his death ; for he endured no evil but solitude, if that
can be called solitude where, by the attention of his keepers,
he was provided with abundance both of amusement and of
food. He was confined, however, till he had survived all
his companions in the Crusade, nor was he liberated to the
day of his death.* He was so eloquent in his native tongue,
that none could be more pleasant ; in other men's affairs, no
counsellor was more excellent ; in military skill equal to any ;
yet, through the easiness of his disposition, was he ever
esteemed unfit to have the management of the state. But since
I have already said all that I knew of Hugh the Great, and
of the earls of Blois and of Flanders, I think I may, very
properly here conclude my Fourth Book.

• Instead of these words "nor was he liberated, &c.," another manu-
script reads, " and whether he ever will be set free, is doubtful." Upon
which Mr. Hardy observes that these various readings of the MSS. seem to
mark the periods when the author composed and amended his histor}^ In
other words, the reading in the text was substituted by the author, when he
revised his work after Robert's death, for the reading in the note, which ia
copied from a MS. written whilst Robert was still in prison.

424 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY.

BOOK Y.

PREFACE.

Summoned by the progress of events, we have entered on
the times of king Henry ; to transmit whose actions to pos-
terity, requires an abler hand than ours. For, were only
those particulars recorded which have reached our know-
ledge, they would weary the most eloquent, and might over-
load a library. Who, then, will attempt to unfold in detail
all his profound counsels, all his royal achievements ? These
are matters too deep for me, and require more leisure than I
possess. Scarcely Cicero himself, whose eloquence is vene-
rated by all the Western world, would attempt it in prose ;
and in verse, not even a rival of the Mantuan Bard. In
addition to this, it is to be observed, that while I, who am a
man of retired habits, and far from the secrets of a court,
withhold my assent from doubtful relators, being ignorant of his
greater achievements, I touch only on a few events. Where-
fore, it is to be feared, that where my information falls be^
neath my wishes, the hero, whose numerous exploits I omit,
may appear to suffer. However, for this, if it be a fault, I
shall have a good excuse with him who shall recollect that I
could not be acquainted with the whole of his transactions,
nor ought I to relate even all that I did know. The insig-
nificance of my condition effects the one ; the disgust of my
readers would be excited by the other. This fifth book,
then, will display some few of his deeds, while fame, no
doubt, will blazon the rest, and lasting memory transmit
them to posterity. Nor will it deviate from the design of
the preceding four, but particularise some things which hap-
pened during his time here and elsewhere, which perchance
are either unrecorded, or unknown to many : they will oc-
cupy, indeed, a considerable portion of the volume, while I
must claim the usual indulgence for long digressions, as well
in this as in the others.

A.D. 1100.] HENRr I. 125

Of Henry the First, [a.d. 1100— 1129.]

Henry, the youngest son of William the Great, was born in
England* the third year after his father's arrival ; a child,
eYen_at that time, fondly cherished by the joint good wishes
of all, as being the only one of William's sons born in royalty,
and to whom the kingdom seemed to pertain. The early , ,^
•years of instruction he passed in liberal arts, and so tSo-"^
roughly imbibed the sweets of learning, that no warlike
commotions, no pressure of business, could ever erase them
from his noble mind : although he neither read much openly,
nor displayed his attainments except sparingly. His learn-
ing, however, to speak the truth, though obtained by snatches, \
assisted him much in the science of governing ; according to !
that saying of Plato, " Happy would be the commonwealth, '
if philosophers governed, or kings would be philosophers.'*
Not slenderly tinctured by philosophy, then, by degrees, in
process of time, he learned how to restrain the people with
lenity ; nor did he ever suffer his soldiers to engage but
where he saw a pressing emergency. In this manner, by
learning, he trained his early years to the hope of the king-
Tom ; and often in his father's hearing made use of the pro-
verb, that "An illiterate king is a crowned ass." They -^
relate, too, that his father, observing his disposition, never,
omitted any means of cherishing his lively prudence ; and
that once, when he had been ill-used by one of his brothers,
and was in tears, he spirited him up, by saying, " Weep not,
my boy, you too will be a king."

In the twenty-first year,f then, of his father's reign, when
he was nineteen years of age, he was knighted by him at
Westminster during Pentecost ; and then accompanying him
to Normandy, was, shortly after, present at his funeral ; the
other brothers departing whither their hopes led them, as my
former narrative has related. Wherefore, supported by the
blessing of his father, together with his maternal inheritance
and immense treasures, he paid little regard to the haughti-

* " Henry was bom in 1068, not in 1070, as stated by Ordericus Vitalis,
(Annal. Burton, apud Fell, inter Rer. Anglic. Script, v. p. 246.)" — Hardy.

t " William the Conqueror was abroad at Pentecost in the 21st year of
his reign, a.d. 1087. Henry undoubtedly received knighthood in the year
1 086, in the 20th year of his father's reign." — Haedy.

426 WILLLOI OF MALMESBURT. [r. r.

ness of his brothers ; assisting or opposing each of them as
they merited. More attached, however, to Robert for his
mildness, he took every means of stimulating his remissness
by his own spirit. Robert, on the other- Jiand, through
blameable credulity, trusting to tale-bearers, injured hisiima=__
jcent brother in a way whif'h it, may not bft irrplpvant briefly
to relate.

""'At; the time when the nobility of England were rebelling
against William the Second, while Robert was waiting a
wind to sail over from Normandy, Henry had, by his com-
mand, departed into Brittany ; when, eagerly seizing the
opportunity, he expended on his troops all the large sum of
money, amounting to three thousand marks, which had been
bequeathed to the young man by the will of his father.
Henry, on his return, though perhaps he endured this with
difficulty, yet observed a cautious silence on the subject.
However, hearing of the restoration of peace in England, the
service was ended, and they laid aside their arms. The earl
retired to his own territories : Henry to those which his bro-
ther had either given, or promised to give him. Indeed he
placed his promises to account, retaining the tower of Rouen
under fealty to Robert. But, by the accusation of some very
infamous persons, his fidelity proved disadvantageous to him ;
and for no fault on his part, Henry was, in this very place,
detained in free custody, lest he should escape the vigilance
of his keepers. Released at the expiration of half a year, on
the invitation of his brother William he offered him his ser-
vices ; but he, remunerating the young man no better, put
him oif, though in distress, with empty promises for more
than a year. Wherefore, Robert, by his messengers, offering
reparation for what had been done, he came to Normandy ;
ha\dng experienced attempts on his person from each of his
brothers. For the king, angry at his departure, had in vain
commanded him to be detained : and the earl, swayed by the
arts of his accusers, had changed his intention ; so that,
when lured to him by soothing measures, he would not easily
suffer him to depart. But he, escaping every danger by the
providence of God and his own prudent caution, compelled
his brother gladly to accede to peace, by seizing Avranches
and some other castles. Soon after, William coming into
Normandy to revenge himself on his brother Robert, Henry

AC. 1091.] HENRY ELECTED KING. 427

manifested his regard to the earl at Rouen. Finally, the
king's party coming thither in the day time, he spiritedly
expelled them, when already, through the treachery of the
citizens, they had over-run the whole city ; sending a mes-
sage to the earl, to oppose them in front, while he pressed
upon their rear. In consequence of this transaction, one
Conan was accused of treachery to the earl ; who designed
to cast him into chains : supposing that no greater calamity
could be inflicted on the wretch, than dooming him to drag
out a hated existence in prison. But Henry requested to
have this Conan committed to his care ; which being granted,
heledThim to the top of the tower at Rouen, and ordering
hira carefully to survey the surrounding territory from the
heights of the citadel, ironically declaring it should all be
his, he thrust him suddenly off the ramparts into the Seine
below ; protesting to his companions, who at the same time
assisted him,, that no respite w^as due to a traitor ; that the
injuries of a stranger might be endured in some manner or
other ; but that the punishment of a man who with an oath
had done homage, when once convicted of perfidy, never
should be deferred. This action weighed little with Robert,
who was a man of changeable disposition, for he immediately
became ungrateful, and compelled his deserving brother to
retire from the city. This was the period in which, as has
been before mentioned, Henry, as well for his security js for
his fame, made a stand against both Robert and WiLiam at
Mount St. Michael's. Thus, though he had been faithful
and serviceable to either brother, they, vouchsafing no esta-
blishment to the young man, trained him up, as he grew in
years, to greater prudence, from the scantiness of his means.
But on the violent death of king William, as before re-
lated, after the solemnization of the royal funeral, he was
elected king; though some trifling dissensions had first arisen
among the nobility which were allayed chiefly through the
exertions of Henry earl of Warwick, a man of unblemished
integrity, with whom he had long been in the strictest inti-
macy. He immediately promulgated an edict throughout
England, annulling the illegal ordinances* of his brother,
and of Ranulph; he remitted taxes; released prisoners;
drove the flagitious from court; restored the nightly use
• Wilkins, Leges Anglo-Saxonicee, 233.

428 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. Ib. t.

of lights within the palace, which had been omitted in his
brother's time;* and renewed the operation of the ancient
laws,! confirming them with his own oath, and that of the
nobility, that they might not be eluded. A joyful day then
seemed to dawn on the people, when the light of fair pro-
mise shone forth after such repeated clouds of distress. And
that nothing might be wanting to the aggregate of happi-
ness, Ranulf, the dregs of iniquity, was cast into the gloom
of a prison, and speedy messengers were despatched to re-
call Anselm. Wherefore, all vying in joyous acclamation,
Henry was crowned king at London, on the nones, of
August, four days after his brother's death. These acts-
were the more sedulously performed, lest the nobility should
be induced to repent their choice; as a rumour prevailed,
that Robert earl of Normandy, returning from Apulia, w§,s
just on the point of arriving. Soon after, his friends, and
particularly the bishops, persuading him to give up mere-
tricious pleasures and adopt legitimate wedlock, he married,
on St. Martin's day, Matilda, { daughter of Malcolm king of
Scotland, to whom he had long, been greatly attached ; little
regarding the marriage portion, provided he could possess
her whom he so ardently desired. For though she was of
noble descent, being grand-niece of king Edward, by his
brother Edmund, yet she possessed but little fortune, being-
an orphan, destitute of either parent ;• of whom there will
be more ample matter of relation hereafter.

In the meantime, Robert, arriving in Normandy, recovered
his earldom vsdthout any opposition; on hearing wliich, al-
most all the nobility of this country violated the fealty which
they had sworn to the king : some without any cause ; some
feigning slight pretences, because he would not readily give
them such lands as they coveted. Robert Fitz-Haymon, and
Richard de Rivers, and Roger Bigod, and Robert earl of

• This has been taken to mean the abolition of the Curfew, by which it
is said, all fires were ordered to be extinguished at eight o'clock; but it
may be doubted, whether it does not rather refer to some regulation of the
court merely. t Those called the Confessor's.

X Matilda having taken the veil, though only for a purpose, scruples
were raised as to the propriety of her entering the marriage state : a synod
was therefore called at Lambeth by archbishop Anselm, and it was there
determined that Matilda, not hanng voluntarily become a nun, mi Jit
marry according to the law of God, See Edmer, pp. 56, 57. — Hardy.

A.D. 1101.] ROBERT LANDS AT PORTSMOUTH. 429

Mellent, witli his brother Henry, alone declared on the side
of justice. tTBut all the others either secretly sent for Ro-
bert to make him king, or openly branded their lord with
sarcasms; calling him, Godric,* and his consort, Goddiva.
Henry heard these taunts, and, with a terrific grin, deferring
his anger, he repressed the contemptuous expressions cast on
him by the madness of fools, by a studied silence; for he
was a calm dissembler of his enmities, but, in due season,
avenged them with fierceness, j This tempest of the times
was increased by the subtlety of Ranulf. For, concerting
with his butler, he procured a rope to be sent him. The
deceitful servant, who was water-bearer, carried him a very
long one in a cask ; by which he descended from the wall of
the tower, but whether he hurt his arms, or grazed the
skin off his hands, is a matter of no importance."!" Escaping
thence to Normandy, he stimulated the earl, already indig-
nant and ripe for war, to come to England without a mo-
ment's delay.

In the second year, then, of Henry's reign, in the month
of August, arriving at Portsmouth, he landed, divided and
posted his forces over the whole district. Nor did the king
give way to indolence, but collected an innumerable army
over against him, to assert his dignity, should it be neces-
sary. For, though the nobility deserted him, yet was his
party strong; being espoused by archbishop Anselm, with
his brother bishops, and all the English. In consequence,
grateful to the inhabitants for their fidelity, and anxious for
their safety, he frequently went through the ranks,- instruct-
ing them how to elude the ferocity of the cavalry by op-
posing their shields, and how to return their strokes. By
this he made them voluntarily demand the fight, perfectly
fearless of the Normans. Men, however, of sounder coun-
sel interfering, who observed, that the laws of natural affec-
tion must be violated should brothers meet in battle, they
shaped their minds to peace ; reflecting, that, if one fell, the
other would be the weaker, as there was no surviving bro-
ther. Besides, a promise of three thousand marks deceived

• These appellations seem intended as sneers at the regular life of
Henry and his queen. Godric implies God's kingdom or government.

f For the particulars of the bisbop's escape, see Ordericus Vitalis
p. 787.

430 WILLIAM OP MALMESBURY. b. v.

the easy credulity of the earl ; who imagined that, when he
had disbanded his army, he might gratify his inclinations
with such an immense sum of money : which, the very
next year, he cheerfully surrendered to the queen's pleasure,
because she desired it.

The following year Robert de Belesme, eldest son of
Roger de Montgomery, rebelled, fortifying the castles of
Bridgenorth and Arundel against the king ; carrying thither
corn from all the district round Shrewsbury, and every ne-
cessary which war requires. The castle of Shrewsbury, too,
joined the rebellion, the Welsh being inclined to evil on
every occasion. In consequence, the king, firm in mind
and bearing down every adverse circumstance by valour,
collecting an army, laid siege to Bridgenorth, from whence
Robert had already retired to Arundel ; presuming from the
plenty of provision and the courage of the soldiers, that the
place was abundantly secure. But, after a few days, the
townsmen, impelled by remorse of conscience and by the
bravery of the king's army, surrendered : on learning which,
Arundel repressed its insolence; putting itself under the
king's protection, with this remarkable condition; that its
lord, without personal injury, should be suffered to retire
to Normandy. Moreover, the people of Shrewsbury sent
the keys of the castle to the king by Ralph, at that time
abbat of Sees, and afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, as
tokens of present submission, and pledges of their future
obedience. Thus, this fire of dissension which was ex-
pected to become excessive, wasted to ashes in the course
of very few days; and the avidity of the revolters, per-
petually panting after innovation, was repressed. Robert,
with his brothers, Ernulph, who had obtained the surname
of his father, and Roger the Poitevin, so called because he
had married his wife from that country, abjured England for
ever; but the strictness of this oath was qualified with a
proviso, "unless he should satisfy the king on some future
occasion, by his obedient conduct."

The torch of war now lighted up in Normandy, receiving
fresh fuel by the arrival of the traitors, blazed forth and
seized every thing within its reach. Normandy, indeed,
though not very wide in its extent, is a convenient and
patient fosterer of the abandoned. Wherefore, for a long

A.3. 1102.] TROUBLES IN NORMANDY. 431

time, slie well endures intestine broils ; and or the restora-
tion of peace, rises soon to a state more fruitful than before ;
at her pleasure ejecting her disturbers, when detected by the
province, by an easy egress into France. Whereas England
does not long endure the turbulent ; but when once received
to her bosom, either surrenders, or puts them to death ;
neither, when laid waste by tumult, does she again soon rear
her recovering head. Belesme, then, arriving in Normandy,
had, both at that time and afterwards, accomplices in his
malignity, and lest this should seem too little, inciters also.
Among others was William earl of Moreton, the son of Robert,
the king's uncle. He, from a boy, had been envious of
Henry's fame, and had, more especially, on the arrival of the
Norman, manifested his evil disposition. For not content
with the two earldoms, of Moreton in Normandy, and Corn-
wall in England, he demanded from the king the earldom
of Kent, which Odo his uncle had held ; so troublesome and
presumptuous was he, that, with shameless arrogance, he
vowed, that he would not put on his cloak till he could pro-
cure the inheritance derived to him from liis uncle ; for such
was his expression. But even then the king, with his
characteristic circumspection, beguiled him by the subtlety
of an ambiguous answer. The tumult, however, being
allayed and tranquillity restored, he not only refused assent
to his demand, but persisted in recovering what he unjustly
retained ; though he did it with moderation, and the sanction
of law, that none of his actions might appear illegal, or con-
trary to equity. William, ousted by the sentence of the law,
retired, indignant and furious into Normandy. Here, in
addition to his fruitless attacks upon the royal castles, he
assailed Richard earl of Chester, the son of Hugh ; invading,
plundering, and destroying some places wliich formed part of
his possessions : the earl himself being at that time a minor,
and under the protection and guardianship of the king.

These two persons, then, the leaders of faction and fo-
menters of rebellion, in conjunction with others whom I am
ashamed to particularize, harassed the country, far and wide,
with their devastations. Complaints from the suffering in-
habitants on the subject of their injuries, though frequent,
were lavished upon the earl in vain. He was moved by
them, it is true ; but fearing on his own account, lest they

432 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. LB. v.

should disturb his ease if offended, he dissembled his feelings.
King Henry, however, felt deeply for his brother's infamy,
carried to the highest pitch by the sufferings of the country :
aware, that it was the extreme of cruelty, and far from a
good king's duty, to suffer abandoned men to riot on the
property of the poor. In consequence, he once admonished
his brother, whom he had sent for into England, with fair
words ; but afterwards, arriving in Normandy, he severely
reminded him, more than once, by arms, to act the prince
rather than the monk. He also despoiled William, the insti-
gator of these troubles, of every thing he had in England ;
razing his castles to the ground. But when he could, even
thus, make no progress towards peace, the royal majesty
long anxiously employed its thoughts, whether, regardless of
fraternal affection, it should rescue the country from danger,
or through blind regard, suffer it to continue in jeopardy.
And indeed the common weal, and sense of right, would
have yielded to motives of private affection, had not pope
Paschal, as they say,* urged him, when hesitating, to the
business by his letters : averring, with his powerful elo-
quence, that it would not be a civil war, but a signal benefit
to a noble country. In consequence, passing over,t he, in a
short time, took, or more properly speaking, received, the
whole of Normandy ; all flocking to his dominion, that he
might provide, by his transcendent power, for the good of
the exhausted province. Yet he achieved not this signal
conquest without bloodshed ; but lost many of his dearest
associates. Among these was Roger of Gloucester, a tried
soldier, who was struck on the head by a bolt from a cross-
bow, at the siege of Falaise ; and Robert Fitz-Haymon, who
receiving a bloAV on the temple, with a lance, and losing his
faculties, survived a considerable time, almost in a state of

• " There is no vestige of this exhortation in any letter of pope Paschal
to king Henry now known. Indeed Paschal, writing to archbishop An-
selm, enjoins him to effect a reconciliation between the king and his brother.
See Anselmi Opera, edit. nov. p. 382, col. 2." — Hardy.

t Orderic. Vital, [p. 815.] relates a circumstance highly indicative of
the troubled state of Normandy. Henry, on his arrival, was immediately
welcomed by Serlo bishop of Sees ; who, on conducting him into the church,
pointed out the area nearly filled with boxes and packages brought thither
for security from plunderers, by the inhabitants.

A. D. 1102.1 BATTLE AT TENERSEBREY. 433

idiotcy.* They relate, that he was thus deservedly punished,
because, for the sake of liberating him, king Henry had con-
sumed the city of Bayeux, together with the principal church,
with fire. Still, however, as we hope, they both atoned for
it. For the king munificently repaired the damage of that
church : and it is not easy to relate, how much Robert en-
nobled, by his favour, the monastery of Tewkesbury ; where
the splendour of the edifice, and the kindness of the monks,
attract the eyes, and captivate the minds of the visitors.
Fortune, however, to make up for the loss of these persons,
put a finishing hand to the war, when at its height, and with
little labour, gave his brother, when opposing him with no
despicable force, together with William earl of Moreton, and
Robert de Belesme, into his power. This battle was fought
at Tenersebrey, a castle of the earl of Moreton's, on Saturday
the Vigil of St. Michael. It was the same day, on which,
about forty years before, William had first landed at Hastings :
doubtless by the wise dispensation of God, that Normandy
should be subjected to England on the same day that the
Norman power had formerly arrived to subjugate that king-
dom. Here was taken the earl of Moreton, who came thither
to fulfil his promise of strenuous assistance to the townsmen,
as well as in the hope of avenging his injuries. But, made
captive, as I have related, he passed the residue of his life in
the gloom of a prison ; meriting some credit from the viva-
city of his mind, and the activity of his youth, but deserving
an unhappy end, from his perfidy. Then, too, Belesmef
escaped death by flight at the first onset ; but when, after-
wards, he had irritated the king by secret faction, he also
was taken ; and being involved in the same jeopardy with
the others, he was confined in prison as long as he lived. He
was a man intolerable from the barbarity of his manners, and
inexorable to the faults of others ; remarkable besides for
cruelty ; and, among other instances, on account of some
trifling fault of its father, he blinded his godchild, who was

* His daughter Mabil became the wife of Robert earl of Gloucester, to
whom Malmesbury dedicated this work.

+ Robert de Belesme was seized by order of king Henry in 1112, having
come to him in Normandy as ambassador fi-om the king of France to treat
of peace. Robert was in the following year sent over to England, and con-
fined in Wareham Castle until his death. — Hardt.

F F

434 TIILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. r.

liis hostage, tearing out the little wretch's eyes with his
accursed nails : full of cunning and dissimulation, he used to
deceive the credulous by the serenity of his countenance and
the affability of his speech ; though the same means terrified
those who were acquainted with his malignity ; as there was
no greater proof of impending mischief, than his pretended
mildness of address.

The king, thus splendidly successful, returned triumphant
to his kingdom, having established such peace in Normandy
as it had never known before ; and such as even his father
himself, with all his mighty pomp of words and actions, had
never been able to accomplish. Rivalling his father also, in
other respects, he restrained, by edict,* the exactions of the
courtiers, thefts, rapine, and the violation of women ; com-
manding the delinquents to be deprived of sight, as well as
of their manhood. He also displayed singular diligence
against the mintmasters, commonly called moneyers ; suffer-
ing no counterfeiter, who had been convicted of deluding the
ignorant by the practice of his roguery, to escape, without
losing his hand.

Adopting the custom of his brother, he soothed the Scot-
tish kings by his affability. For William made Duncan, the
illegitimate son of Malcolm, a knight ; and, on the death of
his father, appointed him king of Scotland. When Duncan
was taken off by the wickedness of his uncle Donald, he
promoted Edgar to the kingdom ; the abovementioned Donald
being despatched by the contrivance of David, the youngest
brother, and the power of William. Edgar yielding to fate,
Henry made affinity with Alexander, his successor, giving
him his illegitimate daughter in marriage, by whom he had
no issue that I know of ; and when she died, he did not much
lament her loss : for there was, as they affirm, some defect
about the lady, either in correctness of manners, or elegance
of person. Alexander resting with his ancestors, David the
youngest of Malcolm's sons, whom the king had made a knight
and honoured with the marriage of a woman of quality,
ascended the throne of Scotland. A youth more courtly than
the rest, and who, polished, from a boy, by intercourse and

* " The laws of Henry I. have lately been reprinted in the * Ancient
Laws and Institutes of England,' under the able editorship of Mr. Thorpe."

— UAKDr.

A.D.1106.] henry's expedition to wales. 435

familiarity with us, had rubbed off all the rust of Scottish bar-
barism. Finally, when he obtained the kingdom, he released
from the payment of taxes, for three years, all such of his
countrymen as would pay more attention to their dwellings,
dress more elegantly, and feed more nicely. No history has
ever recorded three kings, and at the same time brothers,
who were of equal sanctity, or savoured so much of their
mother's piety ; for independently of their abstemiousness,
their extensive charity, and their frequency in prayer, they
so completely subdued the domestic vice of kings, that no
report, even, prevailed, that any entered their bed except
their legitimate wives, or that either of them had ever been
guilty of any unlawful intercourse. Edmund was the only
degenerate son of Margaret, who, partaking in his uncle
Donald's crime, and bargaining for half his kingdom, had been
accessary to his brother's death. But being taken, and
doomed to perpetual imprisonment, he sincerely repented ;
and, on his near approach to death, ordered himself to be
buried in his chains : confessing that he suffered deservedly
for the crime of fratricide.

The Welsh, perpetually rebelling, were subjugated by the
king in repeated expeditions, who, relying on a prudent ex-
pedient to quell their tumults, transported thither all the
Flemings then resident in England. For that country con-
tained such numbers of these people, who, in the time of his
father, had come over from national relationship to his
mother, that, from their numbers, they appeared burdensome
to the kingdom. In consequence he settled them, with all
their property and connexions, at Ross, a Welsh province, as
in a coromon receptacle, both for the purpose of cleansing
the kingdom, and repressing the brutal temerity of the
enemy. Still, however, he did not neglect leading his expe-
ditions thither, as circumstances required : in one of which,
being privily aimed at with an arrow from a distance, though
by whose audacity is unknown, he opportunely and fortun-
ately escaped, by the interposition of his firmly mailed
hauberk, and the counsel of God at the same time frustrating
this treachery. But neither was the director of the arrow
discovered at that time, nor could he ever after be detected,
although the king immediately declared, that it was not let
fly by a Welshman, but by a subject; swearing to it, by the

F F 2

436 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUEY. ^a r.

death of our Lord, which was his customary oath when
moved, either by excess of anger or the importance of the
occasion. For at that very time the army was marching
cautiously and slowly upon its own ground, not in an ene-
my's territory, and therefore nothing less was to be expected
than an hostile attack. But, nevertheless, he desisted not
from his purpose through fear of intestine danger, until the
Welsh appeased the commotion of the royal spirit, by giving
the sons of their nobility as hostages, together with some
money, and much of their substance.

By dint of gold, too, he brought the inhabitants of Brittany
to his views, whom, when a young man, he had had as
neighbours to his castles of Danfrunt and Mount St. Mi-
chael's; for these are a race of people, poor at home, and
seeking abroad to support a toilsome life by foreign service.
Regardless of right and of affinity, they decline not even
civil war, provided they are paid for it ; and, in proportion
to the remuneration, are ready to enter any service that may
be oiFered. Aware of this custom, if, at any time he had
need of stipendiary troops, he used to lavish money on these
Bretons ; thereby hiring the faith of a faithless nation.

In the beginning of his reign he offended Robert, earl of
Flanders, from the following cause : Baldwin the Elder, the
grandfather of this Robert, had powerfully assisted William,
when going to England, by the wisdom of his councils, for
which he was famed, and by a supply of soldiers. William
had frequently made splendid returns for this ; giving, every
year, as they report, three hundred marks* of silver to his
father-in-law, on account of his fidelity and affinity. This
munificence was not diminished towards his son Baldwin;
though it was dropped through the evil disposition of Robert
Friso, as my history has already recorded. Moreover this
Robert, the son of Friso, easily obtained the omitted largess
from William the Second, because the one alleged his rela-
tionship, and the other possessed a boundless spirit in squan-
dering money. But Henry giving the business deeper
consideration, as a man who never desired to obtain money

* " It appears from two charters, printed in Rymer's Foedera, vol. i.
pp. 6, 7, that Henry agreed to pay a pension of four hundred marks, an-
nually, to Robert, earl of Flanders, for the service of one thousand
knights." — Hardy.

A.D. 1119. PHILIP, KING OF FRANCE. 437

improperly, nor ever wantonly exhausted it when acquired,
gave the following reply to Robert, on his return from Jeru-
salem, when imperiously making a demand, as it were, of
three hundred marks of silver. He said, " that the kings of
England were not accustomed to pay tribute to the Flemings ;
and that he would not tarnish the liberty of his ancestors by
the stain of his cowardice ; therefore, if he would trust to his
generosity, he would willingly give him, as a kinsman and as
a friend, whatever circumstances would permit; but if he
thought proper to persist in his demand, he should refuse it
altogether." Confuted by this reasoning, he, for a long time,
cherished his indignation against Henry; but getting Httle
or nothing by his enmity, he bent his mind to milder mea-
sures; having discovered that the king might be wrought
upon by intreaty, but not by imperious insolence. But now,
the change of times had given his son, Baldwin, matter of
offence against Henry ; for, wishing to place William, * the
son of Robert the Norman, in his inheritance, he voluntarily
busied himself in the affairs of others, and frequently made
unexpected attacks upon the king's castles in Normandy.
He threatened extreme trouble to the country, had the fates
permitted; but engaging at Arques with a larger party of
soldiers than he had apprehended, he accelerated his death ;
for his helmet being battered with repeated strokes, he
received an injury in his brain. They relate, that his dis-
order was increased from having that day eaten garlic with
goose, and that he did not even abstain from carnal inter-
course at night. Here let posterity contemplate a noble
specimen of royal attention ; for the king sent a most skilful
physician to the patient, bewailing, as we may believe, that
person's perishing by disease, whom, through admiration of
his valour, he had rather seen survive. Charles, his suc-
cessor, never annoyed the king; and first, with a doubtful,
but afterwards, a formal treaty, embraced his friendship.

Philip, king of France, was neither friendly nor hostile to
our king, being more intent on gluttony than business;
neither were his dominions situated in the vicinity of Hen-
ry's castles ; for the few which he possessed at that time in

* « William, sumamed Clito [the ClitoJ, son of Robert, duke of Nor-
mandy, and Sibilla de Conversano, succeeded to the earldom of Flanders
upon the death of Charles le Bon, a. d. 1127." — Hardy.

438 -WILLIAM OP MALMESBURT. (.b. t

Normandy were nearer to Brittany than France. Besides,
as I have said before, Philip growing in years was oppressed
by lust ; and, allured by the beauty of the countess of Anjou,
was enslaved to illicit passion for her. In consequence of
his being excommunicated by the pope, no divine service
could be celebrated in the town where he resided; but on
his departure the chiming of the bells resounded on all sides,
at which he expressed his stupid folly by laughter, saying,
*' You hear, my fair, how they drive us away."* He was
held in such contempt by all the bishops of his kingdom,
that no one, except William, f archbishop of Rouen, would
marry them : the rashness of which deed he atoned for by
being many years interdicted, and was with difficulty, at
last, restored to apostolical communion by archbishop An-
selm. In the mean while, no space of time could give satiety
to Philip's mad excess, except that, in his last days, being
seized with sickness, he took the monastic habit at Flory.J
She acted with better grace and better success; as she
sought the veil of a nun at Fontevrault, while yet possessed
of strength and health, and undiminished beauty. Soon
after she bade adieu to the present life ; God, perhaps, fore-
seeing that the frame of a delicate woman could not endure
the austerities of a monastery.

Lewis, the son of Philip, was very changeable ; firmly
attached to neither party. At first, extremely indignant
against Robert, he instigated Henry to seize Normandy ;
seduced by what had been plundered from the English, and
the vast wealth of the king. Not indeed, that the one
offered it, but the other invited him ; exhorting him, of his
own accord, not to suffer the nerves of that once most
flourishing country, to be crippled by his forbearance. But
an enmity afterwards arose between them, on account of
Theobald, earl of Blois, son of Stephen who fell at Ramula ;

* He probably intended a joke on the custom of ringing the bells to
scare evil spirits.

+ " Ordericus Vitalis attributes this act to Odo, bishop of Bayeux ; but
Pope Urban II., in his Epistle to Raynald, archbishop of Rheims, ascribes
it to Ursio, bishop of Senlis." — Hardy.

J " Although king Philip, a few years before his death, entertained
8ome notion of embracing a monastic life, as is seen in the epistle written
to him by Hugh, abbat of Cluni, yet it appears that he never earned hii
design into eflfect." — Hardy.

A.©. 1119.] LET\aS, KING OF FRANCE. 439

Theobald being the son of Stephen by Adala, daughter of
William the Great. For a considerable time, messengers on
the part of the king wasted their labour, entreating that
Lewis would condescend to satisfy Theobald. But he,
paying little regard to entreaties, caused Theobald to be
excommunicated by the pope, as arrogant and a rebel to
God ; who, in addition to the austerity of his manners,
which seemed intolerable to all, was represented as depriving
his lord of his hereditary possessions. Their quarrel being
thus of long continuance, when, each swollen with pride,
neither would vail his consequence to the other, Lewis
entered Normandy, proudly devastating every thing with
overbearing violence. These things were reported to the
king, who shut himself up in Eouen until the common
soldiers infested his ears, by saying, ''That he ought to
allow Lewis to be driven back ; a man who formerly kept
his bed through corpulency, but was now, by Henry's
forbearance, loading the very air with threats." The king,
mindful of his father's example, rather preferred crushing
the folly of the Frenchman by endurance, than repelling it
by force. Moreover, he kindly soothed his soldiers, by
addressing them to the following effect, " That they ought
not to wonder if he avoided lavishing the blood of those
whom he had proved to be faithful by repeated trials : that
it would be impious, in achieving power to liimself, to glory
in the deaths of those persons who had devoted their lives to
voluntary conflicts for his safety ; that they were the adopted
of his kingdom, the foster-children of his affection ; where-
fore he was anxious to follow the example of a good king,
and by his own moderation to check the impetuosity of those
whom he saw so ready to die for him." At last, when he
beheld his forbearance wrongly interpreted, and denominated
cowardice, insomuch that Lewis burnt and plundered within
four miles of Rouen ; he called up the powers of his soul
with greater effort, and, arraying his troops, gloriously
conquered : compensating his past forbearance by a san-
guinary victory. But, however, soon afterwards, peace was
concluded, "Because there is a change in all things, and
money, which is capable of persuading what it lists,
extenuates every injury." In consequence William, the son
of our king, did homage to the king of France for Normandy,

440 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURr. Trt.

holding that province, in future, by legal right from him.
This was the period when the same youth married the
daughter of Fulco, earl of Anjou, and obtained, by the
careful management of his father, that, through the
mediation of money and of affinity, no tumults should
affect the son.

At this time, pope Calixtus,* of whom I shall relate much
hereafter, approached the confines of Normandy, where the
king of England, entering into conference with him, com-
pelled the Romans to admire and proclaim the ingenuity of
the Normans. For he had come, as was reported, ill-disposed
towards Henry ; intending severely to expostulate with him,
for keeping his brother, the pilgrim of the Holy Sepulchre,
in confinement. But being pressed by the king's answer,
which was specious, and by his plausible arguments, he had
little to reply. For even common topics may avail, through
eloquence of speech ; and, more especially, that oratory
cannot be despised, which is seasoned with valuable presents.
And that nothing might be wanting to the aggregate of
glory, he provided some youths of noble family, the sons
of the earl of Mellent, to dispute with the cardinals in logic.
To whose inextricable sophisms, when, from the liveliness of
their arguments, they could make no resistance, the cardinals
were not ashamed to confess, that the Western climes
flourished with greater literary eminence, than they had ever
heard of, or imagined, while yet in their own country.
Wherefore, the issue of this conference, was, that the pope
declared, that nothing could be more just than the king of
England's cause ; nothing more conspicuous than his pru-
dence, or more copious than his eloquence.

The father of these youths was Robert, earl of Mellent, as
I observed, the son of Roger de Beaumont, who built the
monastery of Preaux in Normandy ; a man of primitive
simpLjity and sincerity, who, being frequently invited by
William the First, to come to England, and receive, as a
recompence, whatever possessions he chose, always declined ;
saying, that he wished to cultivate the inheritance of his
forefathers, rather than covet or invade foreign possessions
which did not belong to him. He had two sons, Robert, of

• "Pope Calixtus met king Henry at Gisors on his return from the
coimcil at Rheims^ held in October 1119," — Hardy.

A p. 1119.] ROBERT, EARL OF MELLENT. 441

whom we are speaking, and Henry Henry earl of Warwick,
a man of sweet and placid disposition, passed and ended his
days, in occupations congenial to his habits. The other,
more shrewd, and of a subtler character, in addition to his
paternal inheritance in Normandy and large estates in
England, purchased from the king of France a castle called
Mellent, which Hugh the son of Gualeraun, his mother's
brother, had held. Conducted gradually by budding hope
towards fame in the time of the former kings, he attained to
its full bloom in Henry's days ; and his advice was regarded
as though the oracle of God had been consulted : indeed hh
was deservedly esteemed to have obtained it, as he was of
ripe age to counsel ; the persuader of peace, the dissuader oi
strifcj and capable of very speedily bringing about whatever
he desired, from the powers of his eloquence. He possessejj
suchmighty influence in England, as to change by his single
example the long established modes of dress and of diet.
Finally, the custom of one meal a day, is observed* in the
palaces of all the nobility through his means ; which he,
adopting from Alexius, emperor of Constantinople, on the
score of his health, spread, as I have observed, among the
rest by his authority. He is blamed, as having done, and taught
others to do this, more through want of liberality, than any
fear of surfeit, or indigestion ; but undeservedly : since no
one, it is said, was more lavish in entertainments to others,
or more moderate in himself. In law, he was the supporter
of justice ; in war, the insurer of victory : urging his lord
the king to enforce the rigour of the statutes ; himself not
only following the existing, but proposing new ones : free
himself from treachery towards the king, he was the avenger
of it in others, j"

Besides this personage king Henry had among his counsel-
lors, Roger J bishop of Salisbury, on whose advice he prift-'

* This practice is referred to by Henr)' Huntingdon, when speaking 0/
Hardecanute, who had four repasts served up every day, *' when in our
times, through avarice, or as they pretend through disgust, the great set but
one meal a day before their dependents." — H. Hunt. lib. vi. p. 209.

+ " Henry of Huntingdon, in his epistle to Walter (Anglia Sacra, pars
ii., p. 6.95) gives a flattering character of Robert. Ordericus Vitalis places
his death on the first June, a. d. 1118." — Hardy.

t Roger had a church in the neighbourhood of Caen, at the time tnat
Henry was serving under his brother William. Passing that wav, he

442 WILLIAM OF JLAXMESBURY. [ft v.

cifwdly reKed. For, before his accession, he had made him
l*egulator of his household, and on becoming king, having
had proof of his abilities, appointed him first chancellor and
then a bishop. The able discharge of his episcopal functions
led to a hope that he might be deserving of a higher office.
He therefore committed to his care the administration of the
whole kingdom, whether he might be himself resident in
England or absent in Normandy. The bishop refused to
embroil himself in cares of such magnitude, until the three
archbishops of Canterbury, Anselm, Ralph, William, and
lastly the pope, enjoined him the duty of obedience. Henry
was extremely eager to effect this, aware that Roger would
faithfully perform every thing for his advantage. Nor did
he deceive the royal expectation ; but conducted himself with
so much integrity and diligence, that not a spark of envy
was kindled against him. Moreover, the king was frequently
detained in Normandy, sometimes for three, sometimes four
years, and sometimes for a longer period ; and on his return
to his kingdom, he gave credit to the chancellor's discretion
for finding little or nothing to distress him. Amid all these
affairs, he did not neglect his ecclesiastical duties, but daily
diligently transacted them in the morning, that he might be
more ready and undisturbed for other business. He was a
prelate of a great mind, and spared no expense towards com-
pleting his designs, especially in buildings, which may be
seen in other places, but more particularly at Salisbury and
at Malmesbury. For there he erected extensive edifices, at
vast cost, and with surpassing beauty ; the courses of stone
being so correctly laid that the joint deceives the eye, and
leads it to imagine that the whole wall is composed of a
single block. He built anew the church of Salisbury, and
beautified it in such a manner that it yields to none in Eng-
land, but surpasses many, so that he had just cause to say,
" Lord, I have loved the glory of thy house."

entered in, and requested the priest to say mass. Roger began immedi-
ately, and got through his task so quickly that the prince's attendants
unanimously declared, " no man so tit for chaplain to men of their profes-
sion." And when the royal youth said, " Follow me," he adhered as
closely to him, as Peter did to his heavenly Lord uttering a similar com-
mand ; for Peter, leaving his vessel, followed the King of kings ; he, leav-
ing his church, followed the prince, and appointed chaplain to himself and
his troops, became " a blind guide to the blind." Vide G. Neubrig, 1. 6.

A.D. 1119.J MTJRCARD, KING OF IRELAND. 443

Murcard, king of Ireland, and his successors, whose names
have not reached our notice, were so devotedly attached to
our Henry that they wrote no letters but what tended to
soothe him, and did nothing but what he commanded ;
although it may be observed that Murcard, from some un-
known cause, acted, for a short time, rather superciliously
towards the English ; but soon after on the suspension of
navigation and of foreign trade, his insolence subsided,
^or of what value could Ireland be if deprived of the mer-
chandize of England? From poverty, or rather from the
ignorance of the cultivators, the soil, unproductive of every
good, engenders, without the cities, a rustic, filthy swarm of
natives ; but the English and French inhabit the cities in a
greater degree of civilization through their mercantile traffic.
Paul, earl of Orkney, though subject by hereditary right to
the king of Norway, was so anxious to obtain the king's
friendship, that he was perpetually sending him presents ;
for he was extremely fond of the wonders of distant coun-
tries, begging with great delight, as I have observed, from
foreign kings, lions, leopards, lynxes, or camels, — animals
which England does not produce. He had a park called
Woodstock, in which he used to foster his favourites of
this kind. He had placed there also a creature called a
porcupine, sent to him by William of Montpelier ; of which
animal, Pliny the Elder, in the eighth book of his Natural
History, and Isodorus, on Etymologies, relate that there is
such a creature in Africa, which the inhabitants call of the
urchin kind, covered with bristly hairs, which it naturally
darts against the dogs when pursuing it : moreover, these are,
as I have seen, more than a span long, sharp at each extremity,
Hke the quills of a goose where the feather ceases, but
rather thicker, and speckled, as it were, with black and
white.

What more particularly distinguished Henry was that
though frequently and long absent from his kingdom on ac-
count of the commotions in Normandy, yet he so restrained
the rebellious, by the terror of his name, that peace remained
undisturbed in England. In consequence, foreigners will-
ingly resorted thither, as to the only haven of secure tran-
quillity. Finally, Si ward king of Norway, in his early years
comparable to the bravest heroes, having entered on a voyage

444 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [b. ▼.

to Jerusalem, and asking the king's permission, wintered in
England. After expending vast sums upon the churches, as
soon as the western breeze opened the gates of spring to
soothe the ocean, he regained his vessels, and proceeding to
sea, terrified the Balearic Isles, which are called Majorca
and Minorca, by his arms, leaving them an easier conquest
to the before-mentioned William of Montpelier. He thence
proceeded to Jerusalem with all his ships in safety except
one ; she, while delaying to loose her cable from shore, was
sucked into a tremendous whirlpool, which Paul* the histo-
rian of Lombardy describes as lying between the coasts of
the Seine and Aquitaine, with such a force of water that its
dashing may be heard at thirty miles' distance. Arriving at
Jerusalem he, for the advancement of the Christian cause,
laid siege to, battered, and subdued the maritime cities
of Tyre and Sidon. Changing his route, and entering Con-
stantinople, he fixed a ship, beaked with golden dragons, as
a trophy, on the church of Sancta Sophia. His men dying
in numbers in this city, he discovered a remedy for the dis-
order, by making the survivors drink wine more sparingly,
and diluted with water ; and this with singular sagacity ; for
pouring wine on the liver of a hog, and finding that it pre-
sently dissolved by the acridity of the liquor, he immediately
conjectured that the same eifecttook place in men, and after-
wards dissecting a dead body, he had ocular proof of it.
Wherefore the emperor contemplating his sagacity and cou-
rage, which promised something great, was inclined to
detain him. But he adroitly deluded the expectation in
which he was already devouring the Norwegian gold ; for,
obtaining permission to go to a neighbouring city, he de-
posited with him the chests of his treasures, filled with lead
and sealed up, as pledges of a very speedy return ; by which
contrivance the emperor was deceived, and the other returned

r home by land.

\ But my narrative must now return to Heniy;^^IIe was '

'^ * " Paulus Diaconus, also called Winfrid, was secretary to Desiderius, last
of the native princes of Lombardy. Paulus wrote his History of the Lom-
bards, in six books, before the empire by Charlemagne was founded." —
Hardy. Malmesbury seems to imply that the vessel was lost in the Medi- i
terranean ; but if so, he misunderstood Paulus Diaconus, who is speaking
of the race of Aldemey. Vide Paul. Diac. lib. i. c, 6, ap. Muratori.
Uer. Ital. Script, t. 1.

A-D. 1119.] CHARACTER OF HENRY I. 445

active in providing what would be beneficial to his empire ;*
firm in defending it; abstinent from war, as far as he could -
witE~h^n6ur ; t)ut when he had determined no longer to for-
bear, a most severe requiter of injuries, dissipating every \
opposing danger by the energy of his courage ; constant in
enmity or in affection towards all ; giving too much indulg- ;
ence to the tide of anger in the one, gratifying his royal j
magnanimity in the other ; depressing his enemies indeed — ^
even to despair, and exalting his friends and dependants to
an enviable condition. For philosophy propounds this to be
the first or greatest concern of a good king,

" To spare the suppliant, but depress the proud."t

Inflexible in the administration of justice, he ruled the ,
people with moderation; the nobility with condescension*^'
Seeking after robbers and counterfeiters with the greatest
diligence, and punishing them when discovered ; neither was
he by any means negligent in matters of lesser importance.
Wlien he heard that the tradesmen refused broken money, J
though of good silver, he commanded the whole of it to be
broken, or cut in pieces. The measure of his own arm was
applied to correct the false ell of the traders, and enjoined on
all throughout England. He made a regulation for the fol-
lowers of his court, at whichever of his possessions he might
be resident, stating what they should accept without pay-
ment from the country-folks; and how much, and at what
price, they should purchase ; punishing the transgressors by
a heavy pecuniary fine, or loss of life. In the beginning of

* Of Henry's prudent accommodation to the times, a curious anecdote
is related by Ordericus Vitalis, p. 815. When Serlo bishop of Sees met
him on his arrival in Normandy, be made a long harangue on the enormities
of the times, one of which was the bushyness of men's beards which resem-
bled Saracens' rather than Christians', and which he supposes they would
not clip lest the stumps should prick their mistresses' faces ; another was
their long locks. Henry immediately, to show his submission and repent-
ance, submits his bushy honours to the bishop, who, taking a pair of shears
from his trunk, trims his majesty and several of the principal nobility with
his own hands.

t Virg. JEn. vi. 853.

X Whilst endeavouring to distinguish good coin from coimterfeits, the
Bilver penny was frequently broken, and then refused. Henry's order,
therefore, that all should be broken, enabled any one immediately to as-
certain the quality, and, at the same time, left no pretext for refusing it on
aecoimt of its being broken money. — Vide Edmerum Hist. Novor. p. 94.

\

446 WILLIA3I OF MALMESBURT. [b.t.

his reign, that he might awe the delinquents by the terror of
example, he was more inclined to punish by deprivation of
limb; afterwards by mulct. Thus, in consequence ofJJie
rectitude of his conduct, as is natural to man, he was vene--
rated by the nobility, and beloved by the common people.
If at any time the better sort, regardless of their plighted
oath, wandered from the path of fidelity, he immediately
recalled them to the straight road by the wisdom of his
plans, and his unceasing exertions; bringing back the re-
fractory to soundness of mind by the wounds he inflicted on
their bodies. Nor can I easily describe what perpetual
labour he employed on such persons, while suffering nothing
to go unpunished which the delinquents had committed
repugnant to his dignity. Normandy, as I have said before,
was the chief source of his wars, in which, though princi-
pally resident, yet he took especial care for England; none
daring to rebel, from the consideration of his courage and of
his prudence. Nor, indeed, was he ever singled out fof the
attack of treachery, by reason of the rebellion of any of his
nobles, through means of his attendants, except once; the
author of which was a certain chamberlain, born of a ple-
beian father, but of distinguished consequence, as being
keeper of the king's treasures ; but, detected, and readily
confessing his crime, he paid the severe penalty of his per-
fidy.* With this exception, secure during his whole life,
V the minds of all were restrained by fear, their conversation
"^ b^LXggard for him.
^ ^He was of middle stature, exceeding the diminutive, but
<j^ exceeded by the very tall: his hair was black, but scanty,
near the forehead ; his eyes mildly bright ; his chest brawny ;
his body fleshy : he was facetious in proper season, nor did
multiplicity of business cause him to be less pleasant when
he mixed in society, v Not prone to personal combat, he veri-
fied the saying of~§cipio Africanus, " INly^mother bore me a
commander, not a soldier;" wherefore he was inferior in

♦ Suger relates, that Henry was so terrified by a conspiracy among his
chamberlains, that he frequently changed his bed, increased his guards, and
caused a shield and a sword to be constantly placed near him at night :
and that the person here mentioned, who had been favoured and promoted
in an especiad manner by the king, was, on his detection, mercifully ad-
judged to lose only his eyes and his manhood, when he justly deserved
hanging. — De Vit. Lud. Grossi. Duchesne, iv. 308.

A.D. 1119.] PIETY OF HENRY I. 447

wisdom to no king of modern time; and, as I may almost
say, he clearly surpassed all liis predecessors in England, and
preferred contending by counsel, rather than by the sword.
Khe could, he conquered without bloodshed; if it was una-
voidable, with as little as possible. \ He waaJree, duringjiis,
whole Jifej from impure desires ; * for, as we have learned
from those who were well informed, he was led by female
blandisliments, not for the gratification of incontinency, but
for the sake of issue ; nor condescended to casual intercourse,
unless where it might produce that effect ; in this respect the
masteg^f his natural inclinations, not the passive slave of
lust, t He was plain in his diet, rather satisfying the calls of
hunger, than surfeitin:^"Mmseif by variety of delicacies. He
never drank but to allay thirst ; execrating the least depar-
ture from temperance, both in himself and in those about
him. He was heavy to sleep, which was interrupted by fre-
quent snoring. His eloquence was rather unpremeditated
than laboured ; not rapid, but deliberate.

His piety towards God was laudable, for he built monaste-
ries in £ng-laiid^_ajad_in Normandy :|but as he has not yet
completed them, I, in the meantime, should suspend my
judgment, did not my affection for the brotherhood at Read-
ing forbid my silence. He built this monastery between the
rivers Kennet and Thames, in a place calculated for the re-
ception of almost all who might have occasion to travel to
the more populous cities of England, where he placed monks
of the Clugniac order, who are at this day a noble pattern
of holiness, and an example of unwearied and delightful
hospitality. Here may be seen what is peculiar to this place :
for guests arriving every hour, consume more than the in-
mates themselves. Perhaps, some person may call me over-
hasty and a flatterer, for so signally celebrating a congrega-
tion yet in its infancy ; unconscious what future times may
produce : but they, as I hope, will endeavour, by the grace
of God, to continue in virtue ; and I blush not at commend-
ing men of holiness, and admiring that excellence in others
which I possess not myself. He yielded up the investiture^L

» " Compare Malmesbury's character of Henrj' in this particiilar with
that given of him by Henry of Huntingdon." — Hardy.

t The ceremony of giving possession of lands or offices, was, by the
feudal law, accompanied with the delivery of certain symbols. In con-

448 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [B. ▼.

of the churches to God and St. Peter, after much contro-
versy between him and archbishop Ansehn, scarcely induced,
even at last, to consent, through the manifold grace of God,
by an inglorious victory over his brother. The tenor of
these disputes Edmer has recorded at great leitgth ; I, to
give a completer knowledge of the matter, shall ^bjoin the
letters of the so-often-mentioned pope Paschal on the subject.
" Paschal the bishop to king Henry, health. From your
letters, lately transmitted to us by your servant, our beloved
son, William the clerk, we have been certified both of the
safety of your person, and of those prosperous successes which
the divine favour hath granted you in the subjugation of the
adversaries of your kingdom. We have heard too, that you
have had the male issue you so much desired, by your noble
and religious consort. As we have derived pleasure from
this, we think it a good opportunity to impress the commands
and will of God more strongly upon you, at a time when you
perceive yourself indebted to his kindness for such ample
favours. We also are desirous of associating our kindness
with the benefits of God towards you ; but it is distressing,
that you should seem to require what we cannot possibly
grant. For if we consent, or suffer, that investitures be con-
ferred by your excellence, no doubt it will be to the great
detriment both of ourselves, and of you. In this matter we
wish you to consider, what you lose by not performing, or
gain by performing. For we, by such a prohibition, obtain
no increase of influence, or patronage, over the churches ;
nor do we endeavour to take away any thing from your just
power and right ; but only that God's anger may be dimi-
nished towards you, and thus every prosperity attend you.
God, indeed, hath said, ' Those that honour me, I will

foraiity to this practice, princes conferred bishoprics and abbeys by the de-
livery of a crozier and a ring, which was called their investiture : and as
consecration could not take place till after investiture, this, in fact, implied
their appointment also. The popes at length finding how much such a
practice tended to render the clergy dependent on the temporal power, in-
hibited their receiving investiture from laymen by the staff and ring, which
were emblems of their spiritual office. The compromise of Henry with
Paschal enacted, that in future the king would not confer bishoprics by the
BtafF and ring ; but that the bishops should perform the ceremony of
homage, in token of submission for their temporals : the election by tiiese
means, remaining, nominally, in the chapter, or monastery.

A.B.1119.1 PASCHAX ON INVESTITURES. 449

honour ; and those that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed.*
You will say then, ' It is my right ;' no truly, it is neither
an imperial nor royal, but a chvine right ; it is His only, who
has said, * I am the door :* wherefore I entreat for his sake,
whose due it is, that you would restore and concede it to
him, to whose love you owe what you possess. But why
should we oppose your pleasure, or run counter to your good
will, unless we were aware, that in consenting to this matter,
we should oppose the will of God, and lose his favour ? Why
should we deny you any thing, which might be granted to
any man living, when we should receive greater favours in
return ? Consider, my dearest son, whether it be an honour,
or a disgrace that Anselm, the wisest, and most rehgious of
the Gallican bishops, on this account, fears to be familiar
with you, or to continue in your kingdom. What will those
j^rsons think, who have hitherto had such favourable ac-
' counts of you ? What will they say, when this gets noised
abroad ? The very people who, before your face, commend
your excess, will, when out of your presence, be the first
more loudly to vilify the transaction. Return then to your
understanding, my dearest son, we entreat you, for the mercy
of God, and the love of his Only-begotten Son : recall your
pastor, recall your father ; and if, what we do not imagine,
he hath in anything conducted himself harshly towards you,
and hath opposed the investitures, we will mediate accord-
ing to your pleasure, as far as God permits : but neverthe-
less, remove from your person and your kingdom the infamy
of such an expulsion. K you do this, even although you
should ask very difficult matters of us ; still if, with God's
permission, we can grant, you shall certainly obtain, them :
and we will be careful to entreat the Lord for you, himself
assisting, and will grant indulgence and absolution, as well
to your sins, as to those of yotir consort, through the merits
of the holy apostles. Moreover, we will, together with you,
cherish the son whom you have begotten on your exemplary
and noble consort ; and who is, as we have heard, named
after your excellent father, William, with such anxious care,
that whosoever shall injure either you, or him, shall be
regarded as having done injury to the church of Rome.
Dated at the palace of Lateran, the ninth before the kalends
of December."

G G

450 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUET. "». r.

" Paschal to Anselm. We have received those most grati-
fying letters of your affection, written with the pen of
charity. In these we recognise the fervency of your devo-
tion, and considering the strength of your faith, and the
earnestness of your pious care, we rejoice ; because, by the
grace of God, neither promises elevate, nor threats depress
you. We lament, however, that after having kindly received
our brother bishops, the ambassadors of the king of England,
they should, on their return home, report what we never
uttered, or even thought of. For, we have heard, that they
said, if the king conducted himself well in other respects, we
should neither prohibit the investiture of the churches, nor
anathematize them, when conferred ; but that we were un-
willing thus to write, lest from this precedent other princes
should exclaim. Wherefore we call Jesus, who trieth the
hearts and reins, as witness to our soul, if ever such a horrid
crime, even entered our imagination, since we assumed the
care of this holy see." And again below. " If, therefore,
a lay hand present the staff, the sign of the shepherd's office,
or the ring, the emblem of faith, what have the bishops to do
in the church ? Moreover, those bishops who have changed
the truth into a lie, that truth, which is God, being the crite-
rion, we separate from the favour of St. Peter and our society,
until they have made satisfaction to the church of Rome.
Such, therefore, as have received the investiture,* or conse-
cration, during the aforesaid truce, f we regard as aliens to
our communion and to the church."

" Paschal to Anselm. Since the condescension of Almighty
God hath inclined the heart of the king of England to obe-
dience to the papal see, we give thanks to the same God of
mercies, in whose hand are situated the hearts of kings.
We believe it indeed to have been effected through favour to
your charity, and the earnestness of your prayers, that in
this respect the heavenly mercy hath regarded the people

* The printed copy, as well as such manuscripts as have been consulted,
read, " investituras consecrationum :" evidently wrong ; the true reading, as
appears from Edmer, p. 72, where the whole instnunent is inserted, being
" investituram vel consecrationem."

+ On Anselm's return, shortly after Henry's accession. H was agreed
that all matters should remain in abeyance, until both pames should have
8ent messengers to the pope, for his decision on the subject of investitures,
See Edmer, p. 56.

4.0. 1119.] LETTER OF POPE PASCHAL. 451

over whom your watchfulness presides. But whereas we so
greatly condescend to the king and those who see«\ culpable,
you must know that this has been done from kindness and
compassion, that we may lift up those that are down. And
you, also, reverend and dearest brother in Christ, we release
from the prohibition or, as you conceive, excommunica-
tion, which, you understand, was denounced against invest]
tures or homage by our predecessor of holy memory pope
Urban. But do you, by the assistance of God, accept those
persons who either receive investitures, or consecrate such as
have received them, or do homage on making that satisfaction
which we signify to you by our common legates William and
Baldwin, faithful and true men, and absolve them by virtue of
our authority. These you will either consecrate yourself, or
command to be consecrated by such as you choose ; unless
perchance you should discover somewhat in them on account
of which they ought to be deprived of their sacred honours.
And if any, hereafter, in addition to the investitures of the
churches, shall have accepted prelacies, even though they
have done homage to the king, yet let them not, on this ac-
count, be denied the office of consecration, until by the grace
of Almighty God, the heart of the king may be softened^ by
the dew of your preaching, to omit this. Moreover, against
the bishops who have brought, as you know, a false report
from us, our heart is more vehemently moved, because they
have not only injured us, but have led astray the minds of
many simple people, and impelled the king to want of charity
for the papal see. Wherefore, by the help of God, we suiFer
not their crime to pass unpunished : but since the earnest-
ness of our son the king unceasingly entreats for them, you
will not deny, even them, the participation of your commu-
nion. Indeed, you will, according to our promise, absolve
from their transgressions and from penance the king and his
consort, and those nobles who for tliis business, together with
the king, have by our command been under sentence, whose
names you will learn from the information of the aforesaid
William. We commit the cause of the bishop of Rouen to
your consideration, and we grant to him whatsoever you
may allow."

In this manner acted Paschal the supreme pope, anxious
for the liberty of the churches of God. The bishops whom

gg2

452 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURl L^^ ▼•

he accuses of falsehood, were Girard archbishop of Yurk,
and Herbert of Norwich, whose errors were discovered by
the more veracious legates, William afterwards bishop of
Exeter, and Baldwin monk of Bee. Anselm* the arch-
bishop was now again, in the time of this king, an exile at
Lyons, resident with Hugh, archbishop of that city, when
the first letter which I have inserted was despatched ; for he
himself possessed no desire to return, nor d'd the king,
through the multitude of sycophants, suffer his animosity to
be appeased. He deferred, therefore, for a long time, recall-
ing him or complying with the papal admonition ;.not from
desire of power, but through the advice of the nobility, and
particularly of the earl of Mellent, who, in this affaii-, running
counter to reason more from ancient custom than a sense of
right, alleged that the king's majesty must be much dimi-
nished if, disregarding the usage of his predecessors, he
ceased to invest the elected person with the staff and ring.
The king, however, considering more attentively what the
clear reasoning of the epistles, and the bountiful gift of
divine favours, plentifully showered down upon him, admon-
ished, yielded up the investiture of the ring and staff for
ever^ retaining only the privilege of election and of the tem-
poralities. A great council, therefore, of bishops, nobles,
and abbats, being assembled at London, many points of
ecclesiastical and secular business were settled, many differ-
ences adjusted. And not long after, five bishops were
ordained in Kent, on the same day, by archbishop Anselm :
William to the see of Winchester: Roger to Salisbury;
William to Exeter; Reinald to Hereford; Urban to Gla-
morgan. In this manner a controversy, agitated by per-
petual dissensions, and the cause of many a journey to and
from Rome by Anselm, met with a commendable termination.

Henry's queen, Matilda, descended from an ancient an4-.
illustrious race of kings, daughter of the king of Scotland^ —
as I have said before, had also given her attention to litera-
ture, being educated, from her infancy, among the nuns at
Wilton and Romsey. Wherefore, in order to have a colour
for refusing an ignoble alliance, wjiich was more than once
offered by her father, she wore the garb indicative of the

* He had been recalled on the king's accession, but afterwards quitted
the kingdom again.

A.D. 1107.] ACCOUNT 01' QUEEN MATILDA. 453

holy profession. _This^ when the king was about to advance
her to his bed, became matter of controversy ; nor could the
archbishop be induced to consent to her marriage, but by
the production of lawful witnesses, who swore that she had
Ivorn the veil on account of her suitors, but had never made
her vow. Satisfied with a child of either sex, she ceased
having issue, and enduring with compla<)ency, when the king
was elsewhere employed, the absence of the court, she con-
tinued many years at Westminster ; yet was no part of royal
magnificence wanting to her; but at all times crowds of
visitants and talebearers were, in endless multitudes, entering
and departing from her superb dwelling ; for this the king's
liberality commanded ; this her own kindness and affability
attracted. She was singularly holy ; by no means despicable
m point of beauty ; a rival of her mother's piety ; never
committing any impropriety, as far as herself was concerned ;
and, with the exception of the kiog's bed, completely^aste
and uhcontaminated even by suspicion. Clad in hair cTotli
beneath her royal habit, in Lent, she trod the tlireshold&~of
tke-churches barefoot. Nor was she disgusted at washing
the feet of the diseased ; handling their ulcers dripping \vith
corruption, and, finally, pressing their hands, for a long time
together to her lips, and decking their table. She had a
singular pleasure in hearing the service of God ; and on this
account was thoughtlessly prodigal towards clerks of melo-
dious voice ; addressed them kindly, gave to them liberally,
and promised still more abundantly. Her generosity becom-
ing universally known, crowds of scholars, equally famed for
verse and for singing, came over ; and happy did he account
himself who could soothe the ears of the queen by the no ~
velty of his song. Nor on these only did she lavish money,
but on all sorts of men, especially foreigners, that through
her presents they might proclaim her celebrity abroad : for
the desire of fame is so rooted in the human mind, tha*
scarcely is any one contented with the precious fruits of a
good conscience, but is fondly anxious, if he does any thing
laudable, to have it generally known. Hence, it was justly
observed, the disposition crept upon the queen to reward all
the foreigners she could, while the others were kept in sus-
pense, sometimes with effectual, but oftener witb empty pro-
mises. Hence, too, it arose that she fell into the error of

4o4 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [3. ▼.

prodigal givers ; bringing many claims on her tenantry, ex-
posing them to injuries, and taldng away their property; by
which obtaining the credit of a liberal benefactress, she little
regarded their sarcasms. But whoso shall judge rightly,
will impute this to the designs of her servants, who, harpy-
like, conveyed everything they could gripe into their purses
or wasted it in riotous living. Her ears being infected with
tiie base insinuations of these people, she induced this stain
in her noble mind, holy and meritorious in every other re-
spect. Amid these concerns she was snatched away from
her country, to the great loss of the people, but to her own
advantage ; for her funeral being splendidly celebrated at
Westminster, she entered into rest; and her spirit mani-
fested, by no trivial indications, that she was a resident in
heaven. She died, willingly leaving the throne, after a
reign of seventeen years and six months, experiencing the
fate of her family, who almost all departed in the flower of
their age. To her, but not immediately, succeeded Adala,*
daughter of the duke of Louvain, which is the principal
town of Lorraine.

By Matilda king Henry had a son named William, educa-
ted and destined to the succession,! with the fondest hope,
and surpassing care. For to him, when scarcely twelve
years of age, all the free men of England and Normandy,
of every rank and condition, and under fealty to whatever
lord, were obliged to submit themselves by homage, and by
oath. When a boy, too, he was betrothed to and received
in wedlock, the daughter of FulcoJ earl of Anjou, who was
herself scarcely marriageable ; his father-in-law bestowing
on him the county of Maine as her dower. Moreover,
Fulco, proceeding to Jerusalem, committed his earldom to
the king, to be restored, should he return, but otherwise,

* " Henry married Adala, daughter of Godfrey, conte de Louvain, in
February, 1121." — Hardy.

+ " Bromton (col. 1013, x. Scrip.) ascribes to Malmesbury words which
are no where to be found in this author, * Willelmus Malmesbiriensis dicit,
quod ille Willelmus regis primogenitus palam Anglis fuerat comminatus,
quod, si aliquando super eos regnaret, faceret eos ad aratrum trahere quasi
boves : sed spe sua coruscabili Dei vindicta cum aliis deperiit.' " — Hardt.

X " The nuptials of prince William with Matilda, daughter of the earl
of Anjou, were celebrated in June, 1119, before the council of Rheims.**
— Hardt.

A.D. 1116.] PRINCE AYILLIAM DROWNED. 455

to go to his son-in-law. Many provinces, then, looked for-
ward to the government of this boy : for it was supposed
that the prediction of king Edward would be verified in
him ; and it was said, that now might it be expected, that
the hopes of England, like the tree* cut down, would,
tlirough this youth, again blossom and bring fortli fruit,
and thus put an end to her sufferings: but God saw other-
wise; for this illusion vanished into air, as an early day
was hastening him to his fate. Indeed, by the exertions
.f his father-in-law, and of Theobald the son of Stephen,
and of his aunt Adala, Lewis king of France conceded the
legal possessioli of Normandy to the lad, on his doing him
homage. The prudence of his truly careful father so ar-
ranged and contrived, that the homage, which he, from the
extent of his empire, disdained to perform, should not be
refused by his son, a youth of delicate habit, and not very
likely to live. In discussing and peaceably settling these
matters, the king spent the space of four years ; continuing
the whole of that time in Normandy. Nevertheless, the
calm of this brilliant, and carefully concerted peace, this
anxious, universal hope, was destroyed in an instant by the
vicissitudes of human estate. For, giving orders for re-
turning to England, the king set sail from Barfleur just
before twilight on the seventh before the kalends of De-
cember ; and the breeze which filled his sails conducted him
safely to his kingdom and extensive fortunes. But the
young man, who was now somewhat more than seventeen
years of age, and, by his father's indulgence, possessed
everything but the name of king, commanded another ves-
sel to be prepared for himself ; almost all the young nobility
flocking around him, from similarity of youthful pursuits.
The sailors, too, immoderately filled with wine, with that
seaman's hilarity which their cups excited, exclaimed, that
those who were now a-head must soon be left astern; for
the ship was of the best construction, and recently fitted
with new materials. When, therefore, it was now dark
night, these imprudent youths, overwhelmed with liquor,
launched the vessel from the shore. She flies swifter than
the winged arrow, sweeping the rippling surface of the deep :
but the carelessness of the intoxicated crew drove her on a
* See page 252.

456 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [b. t,

rock, which rose above the waves not far from shore. In
the greatest consternation, they immediately ran on deck,
and with loud outcry got ready their boat-hooks, endea-
vouring, for a considerable time, to force the vessel off:
but fortune resisted and frustrated every exertion. The
oars, too, dashing, horribly crashed against the rock,* and
her battered prow hung immoveably fixed. Now, too, the
water washed some of the crew overboard, and, entering
the chinks, drowned others; when the boat having been
launched, the young prince was received into it, and might
certainly have been saved by reaching the shore, had not
his illegitimate sister, the countess of Perche, now strug-
gling with death in the larger vessel, implored her brother's
assistance ; shrieking out that he should not abandon her so
barbarously. Touched with pity, he ordered the boat to
return to the ship, that he might rescue his sister ; and thtrs
the unhappy youth met his death through excess of affec-
tion : for the skiff, overcharged by the multitudes who leaped
into her, sank, and buried all indiscriminately in the deep.
One rustic f alone escaped; who, floating all night upon the
mast, related in the morning, the dismal catastrophe of this
tragedy. No ship was ever productive of so much misery^
to England ; none ever so widely celebrated throughout the
world. Here also perished with William, Richard, another
of the king's sons, whom a woman of no rank had borne
him, before his accession ; a youth of intrepidity, and dear
to his father from his obedience: Richard earl of Chester,
and his brother Otuell, the tutor and preceptor of the king's
son: the countess of Perche, the king's daughter, and his
niece the countess of Chester, sister to Theobald: and
indeed almost every person of consequence about court,
whether knight, or chaplain, or young nobleman, training
up to arms. For, as I have said, they eagerly hastened
from all quarters, expecting no small addition to their re-
putation, if they could either amuse, or show their devotion
to the young prince. The calamity was augmented by the
difficulty of finding the bodies, which could not be dis-
covered by the various persons who sought them along the

• Viigji iEneid. v. 206.

t He L called a butcher by Orderic Vitalis, p. 867, who has many par-
ticulars of vhis event.

A.D. 1120.] PRINCESS MATILDA. 4o7

shore ; but delicate as they were, they became food for the
monsters of the deep. The death of this youth being known,
producei a wonderful change in existing circumstances. His
father renounced the celibacy he had cherished since Matilda's
death, anxious for future heirs by a new consort : his father-
in-law, returning home from Jerusalem, faithfully espoused
the party of William, the son of Kobert earl of Normandy,
giving him his other daughter* in marriage, and the county
of Maine ; his indignation being excited against the king, by
his daughter's dowry being detained in England after the
death of the prince.

His daughter Matilda, by Matilda, king Henry gave in
marriage to Henry emperor of Germany^j" son of that Henry
mentioned in the third book. Henry was the fifth emperor
of the Germans of this name ; who, although he had been ex-
tremely incensed at his father for his outrages against the holy
see, yet, in his own time, was the rigid follower of, and stick-
ler for, the same sentiments. For when Paschal, a man pos-
sessed of every virtue, had succeeded pope Urban, the ques-
tion again arose concerning the investiture of the churches,
together with all the former contentions and animosities : as
neither party would give way. The emperor had in his
favour all the bishops and abbats of his kingdoms situated
on this side of the mountains ; because Charles the Great, to
keep in check the ferocity of those nations, had conferred
almost all the country on the churches: most wisely con-
sidering, that the clergy would not so soon cast off their
fidelity to their lord as the laity ; and, besides, if the laity
were to rebel, they might be restrained by the authority of
their excommunication, and the weight of their power.
The pope had brought over to his side the churches beyond
the mountains, and the cities of Italy scarcely acknowledged
the dominion of Henry; thinking themselves exonerated
from servitude after the death of his brother Conrad, who,
being left by his father as king of Lombardy, had died at
Arezzo. But Henry, rivalling the ancient Caesars in every

• " The marriage of William, son of the duke of Normandy, with
Sibilla, in 1123, was dissolved, at the instance of king Henry, in the fol-
lowing year, by the pope's legate." — Hardy.

t " Matilda was betrothed to the emperor Henry V. in 1109, but wag
lot married to him until the 7th January, 1114." — Hardy.

458 "WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. > ▼.

noble quality, after tranquillizing his German empire, ex-
tended his thoughts to his Italian kingdom : purposing to
quell the revolt of the cities, and decide the question of
investitures, according to his own pleasure. This progress
to Rome, accomplished by great exertion of mind, and much
painful labour of body, hath been described by David, bishop
of Bangor, a Scot; though far more partially to the king
than becomes an historian. Indeed he commends highly
even his unheard-of violence in taking the pope captive,
though he held him in free custody; citing the example of
Jacob's holding the angel fast till he extorted a blessing.
Moreover, he labours to establish, that the saying of the
apostle, " No servant of God embroils himself in worldly
business," is not repugnant to the desires of those bishops,
who are invested by the laity, because the doing homage to
a layman, by a clergyman, is not a secular business. How
frivolous such arguments are, any person's consideration may
decide. In the meantime, that I may not seem to bear hard
on a good man by my judgment, I determine to make allow-
ances for him, since he has not written a history, but a
panegyric. I will now therefore faithfully insert the grant
and agreement extorted from the pope, by a forcible deten-
tion of three weeks ; and I shall subjoin, in what manner
they were soon after made of none effect, by a holier
council.

" The sovereign pope Paschal will not molest the sove-
reign king, nor his empire nor kingdom, on account of the
investiture of bishoprics and abbeys, nor concerning the in-
jury suffered by himself and his party in person and in
goods ; nor will he return evil to him, or any other person,
on this account ; neither, on any consideration, will he pub-
lish an anathema against the person of king Henry ; nor will
the sovereign pope delay to crown him, according to the
ritual ; and he will assist him, as far as possible, by the aid
of his office, to retain his kingdom and empire. And this
the sovereign pope will fulfil without fraud or evil design."
These are the names of the bishops and cardinals who, at
the command of the sovereign pope Paschal, confirmed by
oath the grant to, and friendship with, the sovereign em-
peror Henry: Peter, bishop of Porto; Censius, bishop of
Sabina ; Robert, cardinal of St. Eusebius ; Boniface, cardinal

A.D. 1119.1 OATH O-a HENRY V. 459

of St. Mark ; Anastasius, cardinal of St. Clement ; Gregory,
cardinal of the apostles Peter and Paul ; also Gregory, car-
dinal of St. Chrysogonus ; John, cardinal of St. Potentiana ;
Risus, cardinal of St. Lawrence ; Remerus, cardinal of Saints
Marcellinus and Peter; Vitalis, cardinal of St. Balbina;
Teuzo, cardinal of St. Mark; Theobald, cardinal of John
and Paul; John, deacon in the Greek School;* Leo, dean of
St. Vitalis ; Albo, dean of Sergius and Bacchius.

The king also made oath as follows : " I, Henry, the king,
will, on the fourth or fifth day of the ensuing week, set at
liberty the sovereign pope, and the bishops and cardinals,
and all the captives and hostages, who were taken for him or
with him; and I will cause them to be conducted, safely,
within the gates of the city, beyond the Tiber ; f nor will I
hereafter seize, or suffer to be seized, such as remain under
fealty to the lord Paschal : and with the Roman people, and
the city beyond the Tiber, I will, as well by myself as by
my people, preserve peace and security, that is, to such per-
sons as shall keep peace with me. I will faithfully assist the
sovereign pope, in retaining his papacy quietly and securely.
I will restore the patrimony and possessions of the Roman
church which I have taken away; and I will aid him in
recovering and keeping every thing which he ought to have,
after the manner of his predecessors, with true faith, and
without fraud or evil design : and I will obey the sovereign
pope, saving the honour of my kingdom and empire, as
Catholic emperors ought to obey Catholic Roman pontiffs."
And they who swore on the part of the king are these:
Frederic, archbishop of Cologne ; Godebard, bishop of Trent ;
Bruno, bishop of Spires ; Berengar, earl ; Albert, chancellor ;
Herman, earl ; Frederic, count palatine ; Boniface, marquis ;
Albert, earl of Blandriac; Frederic, earl; Godfrid, earl;
Warner, marquis.

This treaty being settled and confirmed by the oath of the
aforesaid bishops and cardinals, and mutual embraces ex-
changed, the sovereign pope, on Sunday, the fourth before the
ides of April, celebrated the mass, " As though just born,"

* The church of St. Maria, in Scuola Grseca, is so called, from a tra-
dition that St, Augustine, before his conversion, there tfwUght rhetoric. —
See Lumisden, 318.

t Trastevere, that part in which St. Peter's is situated.

460 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [a T

in which, after his own communion, and that of the mini-
sters at the altar, he gave the body and blood of our Lord
to the emperor with these words : " This body of the Lord,
which the truly holy church retains, born of the Virgin
Mary, exalted on the cross for the redemption of mankind,
we give to thee, my dearest son, for the remission of thy
sins, and for the preservation of the peace and true friend-
ship to be confirmed between me and thee, the empire and
the priesthood." Again, on the next day, the pope and the
king met at the columns* which are in the Forum, guards
being stationed wherever it was deemed necessary, that the
consecration of the king might not be impeded. And at the
Silver f gate he was received by the bishops and cardinals,
and all the Koman clergy ; and the prayer being begun, as
contained in the ritual, by the bishop of Ostia, as the bishop
of Albano, by whom it ought to have been said, had he been
present, was absent, he was conducted to the middle of the
Rota, J and there received the second prayer from the bishop
of Porto, as the Roman ritual enjoins. After this they led
him, vdth Htanies, to the confessionary of the Apostles, § and
there the bishop of Ostia anointed him between the shoulders
and on the right arm. This being done he was conducted,
by the sovereign pontiff, to the altar of the aforesaid apostles,
and there the crown being placed on his head by the pope
himself, he was consecrated emperor. After putting on the
crown, the mass of the Resurrection of the Lord was cele-
brated, in which, before the communion, the sovereign pope,
with his own hand, gave to the emperor the grant, in which
he conceded to him and his kingdom what is underwritten ;
and in the same place confirmed it by the sanction of a cursa
" Pope Paschal, servant of the servants of God, sendeth
health and his apostolical benediction, to his dearest son in
Christ, Henry Augustus, by the grace of Almighty God,
emperor of the Romans. The Divine disposal hath ordained,
tliat your kingdom shall unite with the holy Roman church,

* Three beautiful colmnns, supposed to be remains of the temple of
Jupiter Stator.

t The principal entrance to St. Peter's church, so called by way of pre-
eminence.

t The Rota, which seems to have been a part of St. Peter's church, is
not enumerated by Fontana, de Basilica Vaticana.

^ The chapel, in which the tombs of the apostles are said to be placed.

A.0.1111.] HENRY V CONSECRATED EMPEROR. 461

since your predecessors, through valour and surpassing pru-
dence, have obtained the crown and sovereignty of the
Roman city ; to the dignity of which crown and empire, the
Divine Majesty, by the ministry of our priesthood, hath
advanced your person, my dearest son Henry. That pre-
eminence of dignity, then, which our predecessors have
granted to yours, the Catholic emperors, and have confirmed
in the volume of grants, we also concede to your affection,
and in the scroll of this present grant confirm also, that you
may confer the investiture of the staff and ring on the
bishops or abbats of your kingdom, freely elected, without
violence or simony: but, after their investiture, let them
receive canonical consecration from the bishop to whom it
pertains. But if any person shall be elected, either by the
clergy or the people, against your consent, unless he be
invested by you, let him be consecrated by no one ; except-
ing such, indeed, as are accustomed to be at the disposal of
the archbishops, or of the Roman pontiff. Moreover, let the
archbishops or bishops have permission, canonically, to con-
secrate bishops or abbats invested by you. Your prede-
cessors, indeed, so largely endowed the churches of their
kingdom of their royalties, that it is fitting that kingdom
should be especially strengthened by the power of bishops or
abbats ; and that popular dissensions, which often happen in
all elections, should be checked by royal majesty. Where-
fore, your prudence and authority ought to take more espe-
cial care to preserve the grandeur of the Roman church, and
the safety of the rest, through God's assistance, by your gifts
and services. Therefore, if any ecclesiastical or secular
person, knowing this document of our concession, shall
rashly dare oppose it, let him be bound with the chain of an
anathema, unless he recant, and hazard his honour and dig-
nity. But may God's mercy preserve such as keep it, and
may he grant your person and authority to reign happily to
his honour and glory."

The whole ceremony of the consecration being completed,
the pope and the emperor, joining their right hands, went
with much state to the chamber which fronts the confession-
ary of St. Gregory, that the pope might there put off his
pontifical, and the emperor his regal vestments. As the
emperor retired from the chamber divested of his royal in-

462 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [b. t.

signia, the Roman patricians met him with a golden circle,
which they placed upon his head, and by it gave him the
supreme patriciate* of the Roman city, with common con-
sent and universal approbation.

All this parade of grants and consecration I have taken
literally from the narrative of the aforesaid David, written,
as I said, with too great partiality towards the king, in-^the
"following year, however, a council was assembled' at Rome,
rather by the connivance than the command of the pope,
and the grant was nullified. The authors of its reversal,
were, the archbishop of Vienne, who afterwards ruled the
papal see ;f and Girard, bishop of Angouleme : who stimu-
lated their brother bishops, to make these concessions of none
effect. The proceedings of that council were as follow.

" A.D. 1 1 12, the fifth of the indiction, in the thirteenth year
of the sovereign pope Paschal the second, in the month of
March, on the fifteenth before the kalends of April, a council
was held at Rome, at the Lateran, in the church of Constan-
tine 4 where, when pope Paschal, together with the arch-
bishops, bishops, and cardinals and a mixed company of clergy
and laity, had, on the last day of the council, taken his seat ;
making public profession of the Catholic faith, lest any one
should doubt his orthodoxy, he said, " I embrace all the Holy
Scripture of the Old and New Testament ; the Law written
by Moses, and by the holy prophets : I embrace the four
Gospels ; the seven canonical Epistles, the Epistles of the
glorious preacher St. Paul, the apostle, the holy canons of
the apostles ; the four Universal councils, as the four gospels,
the Nicene, Ephesian, Constantinopolitan, Chalcedonian :
moreover the council of Antioch and the decrees of the holy
fathers, the Roman pontiffs ; and more especially the decrees
of my lords pope Gregory the seventh, and pope Urban of
blessed memory. What they have approved, I approve :
what they held, I hold : what they have confirmed, I con-
firm : what they have condemned, I condemn : what they

* The patrician of Rome appears to have been its chief magistrate ; de-
rived from the office of prefect or patrician under the emperors of Con-
stantinople.

^ As pope Calixtus II.

X The church of St. Saviour, or St. John Lateran, built by Constantine
the Great.

\.v. 1112. COUNCIL AT ROME. 463

have opposed, I oppose : what they have interdicted, I inter-
dict : what they have prohibited, I prohibit : I will perse-
vere in the same in every thing and through every thing."
This being ended, Girard, bishop of Angouleme, legate in
Aquitaine, rose up for all, and by the unanimous consent of
pope Paschal and of all the council, read the following
writing. " That grant which is no grant, but ought more
properly to be called an abomination,* for the liberation of
captives and of the church, extorted from the sovereign pope
Paschal by the violence of king Henry, the whole of us in
this holy council assembled, with the sovereign pope, con-
demn by canonical censure, and ecclesiastical authority, by
the judgment of the Holy Sprit ; and we adjudge it to be
void, and altogether nullify it : and that it may have neither
force nor efficacy, we interdict it altogether. And it is con-
demned, on this account ; because in that abomination it is
asserted, that a person canonically elected by the clergy and
the people, shall not be consecrated by any one, unless first
invested by the king ; which is contrary to the Holy Spirit
and to canonical institution." This writing being read, the
whole council, and all present, unanimously cried out Amen,
Amen : So be it, so be it.

The archbishops there present with their suffragans were
these : John, patriarch of Venice : Semies of Capua : Lan-
dulf of Benevento : Amalfi, Reggio, Otranto, Brindisi,
Capsa, Cerenza ;f and the Greeks, Rosanus, and the arch-
bishop of St. Severina ; the bishops were, Censius of Sabina,
Peter of Porto, Leo of Ostia, Cono of Praenesti, Girard of
Angouleme, Galo of Leon, legate for Berri and the arch-
bishop of Vienne, Roger of Volaterra, Gaufrid of Sienna,
Rolland of Populonia, Gregory of Tarracina, William of
Turin,J William of Syracuse, legate for all the Sicilians, and
near a hundred other bishops. Siwin, and John bishop of
Tusculum, though at Rome, were not present on that day of
the council ; but they afterwards, on the reading of the con-
demnation of the grant, assented and approved of it.

These things gaining publicity, all France made no scruple

■^ MS. pravUegium, a play on the words privilegiiim and pravilegimn-

t Cosenza, L'Abbe, torn. x.

X Another MS. reads Troianus instead of Tunanus.

464 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY. [juy.

of considering the emperor as accursed by the power of
ecclesiastical zeal hurled against him. Roused at this, in the
seventeenth* year of pope Paschal, he proceeded to Rome, to
inflict signal vengeance on him. But he, by a blessed depar-
ture, f had avoided all earthly molestation, and from his
place of repose on high, laughed at the threats of the angry
emperor; who having heard of his death, quickened his
journey, in order that ejecting John Gaitan, chancellor to the
late pope, who had been already elected and called Gelasius,
he might intrude Maurice, J bishop of Brague, surnamed
Bourdin, on the See : but the following epistle of Gelasius
will explain the business more fully.

" Gelasius, servant of the servants of God to the arch-
bishops, bishops, abbats, clergy, princes, and other faithful
people throughout Gaul, health. As you are members of the
church of Rome, we are anxious to signify to your affection
what has there lately taken place. Shortly after our election,
then, the sovereign emperor coming by stealth and with un-
expected haste to Rome, compelled us to depart the city.
He afterwards demanded peace by threats and intimidation,
saying he would do all he might be able, unless we assured
liim of peace by oath. To which we replied thus : Concern-
ing the controversy which exists between the church and the
empire, we willingly agree to a meeting or to legal discussion,
at proper time and place ; that is to say, either at Milan or
Cremona, on the next feast of St. Luke, at the discretion of
our brethren, who, by God, are constituted judges in the
'^hurch, and without whom this cause cannot be agitated.
And since the sovereign emperor demands security from us,
we promise such to him, by word and by writing, unless in
the interim himself shall violate it : for otherwise to give
security is dishonourable to the church, and contrary to
custom. He, immediately, on the forty-fourth day after our
election, intruded into the bosom of the church, the bishop
of Brague, who, the preceding year had been excommuni-

* " Septimo decimo.l More correctly octavo decimo, as the emperor
went before Easter in the year 1117." — Hardy.

+ « Paschal died in Jan. 1118."— Hardy.

X " My.xirice Bourdin, archbishop of Brague, was elected pope by the
influence of the emperor Henry V, on the 9th of March, 1118, and took
the name of Gregory VIII." — Hardy.

m

A.D. 1119.] EPISTLE OF GELASIUS. 465

cated by our predecessor pope Paschal, in a council at Bene-
vento ; and who had also, when he formerly received the
pall from our hands, sworn fidelity to the same pontiff, and
his catholic successors, of whom I am the first. In this pro-
digious crime, however, thanks to God, the sovereign empe-
ror had no single Roman associate ; only the Guibertines,
Romanus of St. Marcellus, Censius, who was called of St.
Chrysogon ; Teuzo, who for a long time was guilty of many
excesses in Dacia ; these alone transacted so shameless a deed.
We command your wisdom, therefore, on the receipt of these
presents, that, deliberating on these matters in common, by
the grace of God, you be prepared, by his help, to avenge
the mother church, as you are aware ought to be done by
your joint assistance. Done at Gaeta on the seventeenth
before the kalends of February."

Gelasius after his expulsion, embarking at Salerno, came
thence to Genoa, and afterwards proceeded by land to
Clugny, where he died.* Then, that is a.d. 1119, the cardinals
who had accompanied him, together with the whole Cisalpine
church, elevating with great pomp Guido, archbishop of
Vienne, to the papacy, called him Calixtus ; hoping, from the
consideration of his piety and energy, that through his
power, as he possessed great influence, they might be able to
withstand the force of the emperor. Nor did he deceive
their confidence : for soon after calling a council at Rheims,
he separated from the churches such as had been, or should
be, invested by the laity, including the emperor also, unless
he should recant. Thus continuing for some time in the
hither districts, to strengthen his party, and having settled
all affairs in Gaul, he came to Rome, and was gladly received
by the citizens, as the emperor had now departed. Bourdin
then, deserted, fled to Sutri, determining to nurture his
power by many a pilgrim's loss ; but how he was ejected
thence, the following epistle explains.

" Calixtus, the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to
his beloved brethren, and sons, the archbishops, bishops,
abbats, priors, and other faithful servants of St. Peter,
clergy as well as laity, situated throughout Gaul, health and
apostolical benediction. As the people have forsaken the

• « Gelasius II, died at Clugny, 2lHh Jan. 1119.— Hardt.
HH

466 WILLIAM 01 MALMESHUUV. [b. t.

law of the Lord, and walk not in his judgments, God visits
their iniquities with a rod, and their sins with stripes :
but retainivig the bowels of paternal love, he does not desert
such as trust in his mercy. For a long time indeed, their
sins so requiring, the faithful of the church have been
disturbed by Bourdin, that idol of the king of Germany ;
nay, some have been taken captive, others afflicted, through
want in prison, even unto death. Lately, however, after
celebrating the festival of Easter, when we could no longer
endure the complaints of the pilgrims, and of the poor, we
left the city with the faitliful servants of the church, and
laid siege to Sutri, until the Divine power delivered that
Eourdin aforesaid, the enemy of the church, who had there
made a nest for the devil, as well as the place itself, entirely
into our power. We beg your brotherly love therefore, with
us, to return thanks to the King of kings, for such great
benejfits, and to remain most firmly in obedience and duty to
the catholic church, as^ you will receive from God Almighty,
through his grace, due recompence for it, both here and
hereafter. We beg, too, that these letters be made public,
with all due diligence. Done at Sutri on the fifth before
the kalends of May."

How exquisite and refined a piece of wit, to call the man
he hated, the idol of the king of Germany ! for the emperoT
certainly held in high estimation Maurice's skill in litej:ature
and politics. He was, as I have said, bishop of Brague, a
city of Spain : a man whom any one might highly reverence,
and almost venerate, for his active and unwearied assiduity ;
had he not been led to make himself conspicuous by so
disgraceful an act : nor would he have hesitated to purchase
the holy see, if he could have found as desperate a seller as
he was a buyer. But being taken, and made a monk, he was
sent to the Den,* for so is the monastery called.

The laudable magnanimity of tht pope proceeded still
farther in the promotion of justice, to the end that he might
repress the boundless and innate cupidity of the Romans.

* A monastery near Salerno, inaccessible, except by one passage. Here
were kept such as from their conduct had become either dangerous oi
scandalous : they were supplied w:th every thing necessary, according to
their order, but were held in close confinement. Its name was given from
the imtameable disposition of its inmaves. See Orderic. Vital. 870.

A.U, 1119] POPE CALIXTUS H. 467

In his time there were no snares laid for the traveller in the
neighbourhood of Rome ; no assaults on him when he arrived
\vithin the city. The offerings to St. Peter, which, through
insolence, and for their lusts, the powerful used to pillage,
basely injuring such preceding popes as dared to complain,
Calixtus brought back to their proper use ; that is to say, for
the public service of the ruler of the holy see. Neither
could the desire of amassinaj money, nor the love of it when
collected, produce in his breast any thing repugnant to
justice : so that he admonished the English pilgrims, on
account of the length of the journey, rather to go to St.
David's * than to Rome ; allowing the benefit of the same
benediction to such as went twice to that place, as resulted
to those who went once to Rome. Moreover that inveterate
controversy between the empire and the priesthood, con-
cerning investiture, which for more than fifty years had
created commotions, to such a degree, that, when any
favourer of this heresy was cut off by disease or death,
immediately, like the hydra's heads, many sprouted up
afresh ; this man by his diligence cut off, brought low,
rooted out, or plucked up : beating down the crest of
German fierceness by the vigorous stroke of the papal
hatchet. This, the declaration of the emperor, find of the
pope, will shew to the world in the following words :

" I, Calixtus, bishop, servant of the servants of God, do
grant unto you, my beloved son, Henry Augustus, ^y the
grace of God, emperor of the Romans, that the eleotion of
bishops and abbats of the German empire, who pertain to
the regality, shall take place in your presence without
simony, or any violence : so that if any discord shall arise
between the parties, you may give your assent, or aid, to the
worthier side, by the counsel or judgment of the metropolitan
or suffragans : but the elect shall receive the royalties from
you, and do whatever, by these, he is lawfully bound to
perform to you : but any one consecrated in the other parts
of the empire, shall, within six months, receive his royalties
from you, by your sceptre, and do whatever, by these, he is
lawfully bound to perform to you ; aU things excepted which
are known to belong to the Roman church. Moreover in
those matters whereof you have complained, and demanded
• This was a high compliment to the ancient Britoi;.
H H 2

468 WILLIAM OF MALMESBUKT. [b. v

my assistance, I will afford you aid according to the duty of
my office. I grant firm peace to you and to all, who are, or
were aiding you at the time of this dispute. Farewell."

" In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, I
Henry Augustus, by the grace of God, emperor of the
Romans, for the love of God, and of the holy Roman
church, and of the sovereign pope Calixtus ; and for the
release of my soul, do grant unto God, and the holy apostles
Peter and Paul, and to the holy catholic church, all investi-
tures by the ring and staff, and do allow canonical election,
and free consecration to take place, in all churches of my
kingdom or empire. The possessions and regality of St
Peter, which, from the beginning of this dispute to the
present day, have been taken away, either in my father's or
my own time, and which I now hold, I restore to the same
holy Roman church : and such as I do not possess, I will
faithfully assist her in recovering. And of the possessions
of all other churches, princes, and others, clergy as well as
lay, which have been forfeited in this contention by the
advice of my princes, or by course of law, such as I have, I
will restore ; and such as I do not possess, I will faithfully
assist in recovering. And I grant firm peace to the
sovereign pope Calixtus, and to the holy Roman church, and
to all, who are, or have been on her side : and I will
faithfully assist her in every thing in which she requires
assistance : and will afford her due justice in such matters
whereof she shall have complained. All these affairs were
transacted by the consent and counsel of the nobility, whose
names are here subscribed. Albert, archbishop of Mentz :
Frederic, archbishop of Cologne : the bishop of Ratisbon :
the bishop of Bamburg : Bruno, bishop of Spires : the
bishop of Augsburg : the bishop of Utrecht : the bishop of
Constance : the abbat of Fulda : duke Herman : duke
Frederic : Boniface the marquis : Theobald the marquis :
Ernulf count palatine : Othbert count palatine : earl
Berengar."

The inveterate malady which had disturbed the church
being thus cured, every true Christian greatly rejoiv^d that
this emperor, who, in military glory trod iaat upon the
footsteps of Charles the Great, neither degenerated from his
devotion to God : for, in addition to nobly quelling tho

A.D. 1119.] WILLIAM, EARL OF POITOU. 469

rebellions of his German empire, he subdued his Italian
dominions in such wise as none had done before. Entering
Italy thrice, within the space of ten years, he restrained the
pride of the cities : at his first coming he exterminated by fire,
Novaria, Placentia, Arezzo : at the second, and third,
Cremona, and Mantua ; and quieted the sedition at Ravenna,
by a siege of a few days' continuance : for the Pisans and
Pavians, with the people of Milan, embraced his friendship,
rather than encounter the weight of his enmity. The
daughter of the king of England, who, as I said before, was
married to him, resembled her father in fortitude, and her
mother in sanctity : piety and assiduity vied with each other
in her character, nor was it easy to discern, which of her
good qualities was most commendable.

At that time lived William earl of Poitou ; a giddy un-
settled kind of man; who, after* he returned from Jeru-
salem, as the preceding book relates, wallowed as completely
in the sty of vice, as though he had believed that all things
were governed by chance, and not by Providence. More-
over, he rendered his absurdities pleasant, by a kind of
satirical wit: exciting the loud laughter of his hearers.
Finally he erected, near a castle called Niort, certain build-
ings after the form of a little monastery, and used to talk idly
about placing therein an abbey of prostitutes, naming several
of the most abandoned courtezans, one as abbess, another as
prioress ; and declaring that he would fill up the rest of the
offices in like manner. Repudiating his lawful consort, he
carried ofi" the wife of a certain viscount, of whom he was
so desperately enamoured, that he placed on his shield the
figure of this woman; afiirming, that he was desirous of
bearing her in battle, in the same manner as she bore him
at another time. Being reproved and excommunicated for
this by Girard bishop of Angouleme, and ordered to re-
nounce this illicit amour, "You shall curl with a comb,"
said he, "the hair that has forsaken your forehead, ere I
repudiate the viscountess;" thus taunting a man, whose
scanty hair required no comb. Nor did he less when Peter
bishop of Poitou, a man of noted sanctity, rebuked him

* Guibert of Nogent excuses himself from commemorating the valoui
of many of the crusaders, because, after their return, they had run head-
long into every kind of enormity. Opera, p. 431.

470 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [a.r

still more freely ; and, when contumacious, began to ex-
communicate him publicly: for, becoming furious, he seized
the prelate by the hair, and flourishing his drawn sword:
" You shall die this instant," said he, " unless you give me
absolution." The bishop, then, counterfeiting alarm, and
asking leave to speak, boldly completed tne remainder of
the form of excommunication; suspending the earl so en-
tirely from all Christian intercourse, that he should neither
dare to associate, nor speak with any one, unless he speedily
recanted. Thus fulfilling his duty, as it appeared to him,
and thirsting for the honour of martyrdom, he stretched out
his neck, saying, " Strike, strike." But William, becoming
somewhat softened, regained liis usual pleasantry, and said,
" Certainly I hate you so cordially, that I will not dignify
you by the effects of my anger, nor shall you ever enter
heaven by the agency of my hand." After a short time,
however, tainted by the infectious insinuations of this aban-
doned woman, he drove the rebuker of his incest into banish-
ment : who there, making a happy end, manifested to the
world, by great and frequent miracles, how gloriously he
survives in heaven. On hearing this, the earl abstained
not from his inconsiderate speeches, openly declaring, that
he was sorry he had not despatched him before; that so
his pure soul might chiefly have to thank him, through
whose violence he had acquired eternal happiness. The
following verses are a tribute of applause to the life and
death of Peter. It was said of him, when alive, —

Coarse food, his body : and the poor, his store
Consum'd : while study morals gave, and lore.
Virtues he rear'd, check'd faults, encoiu-aged right,
And law : in peace, not tumult, did delight.
Help to the wretch, to sinners pardon gives,
And, for his friend, his ardour ever lives.
Busy for man was Martha; Mary's heart,
Intent on God, assumed the better part :
So 'twas in him ; for God his soul possess'd,
Unmix'd : his friendless neighbour had the rest.
Rachael he lov'd : nor Leah's hopes depriv'd
Of joy : another Jacob, doubly-wiv'd ;
Dotes on the one, for beauty's matchless grace;
Regards the other, for her numerous race.

And when dead, it was said of him,—

ID. 1119.1 SERLO, ABBAT OF GLOUCESTER. 471

Poor and confin'd, and exiled from his see.

The virtuous prelate bore each injury :

Now rich, free, fix'd, his suff'rings are made even.

For Christ he follows, and inherits heaven.

His life, religion : and a judgment sound,

His mind adom'd ; his works his fame resound,

Reading his knowledge, and a golden mean

His words, arrang'd : in his decisions seen

Was law : severity his justice arm'd,

And graceful beauty in his person charm'd :

His breast was piety's perpetual stand,

The pastor's crosier well-became his hand :

The pope promotes him, but the earl deprives :

Through Christ to joy eternal he survives.

The contemporaries and associates in religion of this
Peter, were Robert de Arbrisil,* and Bernard f abbat of
Tyron, the first of whom was the most celebrated and elo-
quent preacher of these times : so much did he excel, not in
frothy, but honeyed diction, that from the gifts of persons
vying with each other in making presents, he founded that
noble monastery of nuns at Font-Evraud, in which every
secular pleasure being extirpated, no other place possesses
such multitudes of devout women, fervent in their obedience
to God. For in addition to the rejection of other allure-
ments, how great is this ! that they never speak but in the
chapter: the rule of constant silence being enjoined by the
superior, because, when this is broken, women are prone to
vain talk. The other, a noted admirer of poverty, leaving a
most opulent monastery, retired with a few followers into a
woody and sequestered place, and there, " As the light could
not be hidden under a bushel," vast numbers flocking to him,
he founded a monastery, more celebrated for the piety and
number of the monks, than for the splendour and extent of
its riches.

And, that England may not be supposed destitute of vir»v
tue, who can pass by Serlo, abbat of Gloucester, who ad- /
vanced that place, almost from meanness and insignificance,
to a glorious pitch ? All England is acquainted with the
considerate rule professed at Gloucester, which the weak

* Robert de Arbrisil founded the monastery of Fontevrault in 1099,
and died in 1117.

+ *< Bernard founded the abbey of Tyron in 1109, and died m 1116."—
Hardy.

472 WILLLOI OF MALMESBURT. .a. t.

may embrace, and the strong cannot despise. Their leader,
Serlo's axiom, was, " Moderation in all things." Although
mild to the good, he was fierce and terrific to the haughty ;
to corroborate which, I shall insert the verses of Godfrey
the prior concerning him ; —

The church's bulwark fell, when Serlo died,
Virtue's sharp sword, and justice's fond pride :
Speaker of truth, no vain discourse he lov'd,
And pleas'd the very princes he reprov'd :
A hasty judgment, or disorder 'd state
Of life, or morals, were his utter hate.
The third of March was the propitious day,
When Serlo wing*d, through death, to life his way.

Who can in silence pass Lanzo, who flourished at that
time, equal to any in sanctity? A monk of Clugny, and
prior of St. Pancras* in England; who, by his worth, so
ennobled that place with the grace of monastic reverence,
that it might be justly declared the pecuUar habitation of
virtue. As nothing I can say will equal the merits of his
/life, I shall merely subjoin, in the language I found it, an
(^ account of his death ; that it may plainly appear, how glori-
ously he had lived, who died so highly favoured.

" The affectionate Lord who scourges every son whom he
receives, — ^who promises the just, that they shall be par-
takers of his sufferings as well as of his consolation ; per-
mitted Lanzo to approach his death by such bitter sickness,
during three days, that if any spot from earthly intercourse
had adhered to his pure soul, it must no doubt have been
wiped away by that suffering. For, as that great apostle,
who reclined on the breast of our Lord, says, *If we say
that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us ;' and since Christ will judge every sin, either lightly
here or more severely hereafter, he was unwilling that any
offence should be in the way. of him after death, whom he
knew to have loved him with all his heart. Wherefore, if
there was anything which he thought worthy of examina-
tion in Lanzo, he was desirous of consuming it in his life-
time. To this assertion his confidence in death bore witness.
For when in full health, on the fifth day of the week before
the passion of our Lord, having read the psalter, according
* At Lewes m Sussex.

A.D. 1119.J DEATH OF ST. LANZO. 473

to the daily custom of Lent, and being about to celebrate
mass at the third hour, he had robed himself to the chasuble,*
and had proceeded in the service till mass was on the eve of
beginning, he was suddenly seized with such an acute dis-
order, that himself laying aside the garments he had put on,
he left them not even folded up.f Departing from the ora-
tory, he was afflicted for two days, without intermission, that
is, till the Saturday, having no rest either sitting, walking,
standing, lying, or sleeping. During the nights, however,
he never spoke to his brethren, though entreating him to
break silence; but to this he did not consent, beseeching
them not to sully the purity of his vow ; for since he had
assumed the monastic habit, whenever he had gone out from
complines, he had never spoken till primes of the ensuing
day. But on the Saturday, though so convulsed as to expect
dissolution every moment, he commanded the brethren, now
rising for matins, to come and anoint him : and when he was
anxious to kiss them, after being anointed, as is the custom,
through excess of love he saluted them, not lying or sitting,
but, though agonized to death, standing, supported in their
arms. At dawn, being conducted to the chapter-house,J
when he had taken his seat, he asked all the brethren to
come before him, and giving them the paternal benediction
and absolution, he entreated the like from them. He then
instructed them what they were to do in case he died : and
so, returning whence he came, he passed the rest of the day
with the succeeding Sunday, rather more tranquilly ; but,
behold, after this, that is, after Sunday, signs of approaching
death were discovered; and having his hands washed, and
his hair combed, he entered the oratory to hear mass ; and
receiving the body and blood of the Lord retired to his bed.
After a short time he became speechless, gave his benedic-
tion to the brethren singly as they came before him, and in
like manner to the whole society. But lifting his eyes to
heaven, he attempted with both hands to bless the abbat,
with all committed to his charge. Being entreated by the
fraternity to be mindful of them with the Lord, to whom l^e
was going, he most kindly assented by an inclination of his

• The uppermost garment of the priest, covering the rest ertirely.

t Those who officiated were enjoined to fold up their garments.

:J: It was customary to hold a short chapter immediately after primes.

474 AVILLIAM OF MALMESBUKY. [b. t

head. After he had done thus, he beckoned for the cross to
be presented to him, wliich, adoring with his head and indeed
with his whole body, and embracing with his hands, he ap-
peared to salute with jojrful lips and to kiss with fond affection,
when he distressed the standers-by with signs of departing,
and, being caught up in their arms, was carried yet alive
into the presbytery before the altar of St. Pancras. Here,
surviving yet a time, and pleasing from the rosy hue of his
countenance, he departed to Christ, pure, and freed eternally
from every evil, at the same hour of the day on which, for
his purification, he had been stricken with disease. And
behold how wonderfully all things corresponded ; the passion
of the servant with the passion of the Lord; the hour of
approaching sickness with the liour of approaching eternal
happiness ; the five days of illness which he endured for pu-
rifying the five senses of the body, through which none can
avoid sin. Moreover, from his dying ere the completion of
the fifth day, I think it is signified that he had never sinned
in the last sense which is called the touch. And what else
can the third hour of the day, in which he fell sick, and by
dying entered into eternal life, signify, than that the same
grace of the rioly Spirit, by which we know his whole life
was regulated, was evidently present to him, both in his
sickness and his death. Besides, we cannot doubt but that
he equalled our fathers Odo and Odilo,* both in virtue and
in its reward, as a remarkable circumstance granted to them
was allowed to him also. For as the Lord permitted them to
die on the octaves of those festivals which they loved beyond
all other, (as St. Odo chiefly loved the feast of St. Martin,
and St. Odilo the nativity of our Lord, and each died on the
octaves of these tides), so to Lanzo^ who beyond all of this
age observed the rule of St. Benedict, and venerated the
holy mother of God and her solemnities with singular re-
gard, it happened that, as, according to his usual custom,
both on the demise of St. Benedict, and on the festival of
St. Mary, which is called the Annunciation, he celebrated
high mass in the convent : so on the eighth from the afore-
said anniversary of St. Benedict, being stricken with sick-
ness, he also on the eighth day from the annunciation de-

* Odo, second abbat of Clugny, was founder of the Clugniac rule in the
tenth century. Odilo was elected the fifth abbat of Clugny in 99i.

A. D. 1119.) GODFREY, PRIOR OF ^yiNTOX. 475

parted to Christ. Wherefore, he who is unacquainted with
the Hfe of Lanzo, may learn from his death, how pleasing it
was to God, and will believe with us that these things, which
I have mentioned, did not happen after the common course
of dying persons, as he was a man surpassed by none, in the
present times, for the gifts of the Holy Spirit."

Nor ought the memory of Godfrey, prior of Winchester,
to decay, who was celebrated in these times for his learning
and his piety : his learning is attested by many works and
epistles composed in his familiar and pleasing style, but prin-
cipally by his epigrams, written after the manner of satires,
and his verses in celebration of the chief personages of Eng-
land.* Indeed he restored every divine office to its native
grace, from the manner in which he treated it, though before
it had become obsolete from antiquity. The laws of religion
and of hospitality, already happily traced out, he strongly im-
pressed on the monks, who to this day so closely follow the
footsteps of the prior in both, that they deserve all or nearly
all possible commendation ; indeed in this house there is a
place of entertainment to any extent, for travellers of every
description by sea or land, with boundless expense and cease-
less attention. Among other things this holy man was noted
for his humility, so that nothing but what savoured of mo-
desty and sweetness proceeded from this singular depository
of philosophy. How great indeed must this commendation
seem ? for there is hardly any one, even the least tinctured
with learning, who does not appear to consider others be-
neath his dignity, by his haughty gestures and proud gait
proclaiming the consciousness of his own erudition. How-
ever, that no perfection might be wanting to his pure soul,
he kept his lowly bed for many years, equally consuming
his vitals and his transgressions in the furnace of lasting
sickness.

But why should I enlarge on such characters? There \
were, indeed, at that time in England many persons illustri- 1
ous both for learning and for piety, whose virtue was the more
. commendable in proportion to its constancy and vigour in

* Godfrey was prior of Winchester from a.d. 1 082 to 1 1 07. His verses
in commendation of the chief personages of England are in the manner of
those already inserted on Serlo abbat of Gloucester. Many of his epigrams
have very considerable merit.

476 WILLIAM OF MALMESBURT. [a r

these degenerate times. By a blameless life, therefore, they
gave credibility to ancient histories, and freed them from any
suspicion of falsehood, as they produced modern example of
the possibility of doing what was there recorded. More-
over, were there any prelates apparently degenerating from
the sanctity of ancient times, that is to say, skilled in secular,
indolent in spiritual matters? K there were such, I say,
they endeavoured to shade their failings by costly orna-
ments for their cathedrals. Each of them erected new
churches, and adorned the bodies of their saints with
silver and gold; lavish of expense to secure the good
opinion of the beholders. Among these is Ranulf before-
mentioned, who, being made bishop of Durham, purchased
some glory for his name, by new buildings for the monks,
and by regard to St. Cuthbert. His fame is exalted by his
translation of the holy body, which when taken from its
resting-place he exhibited to all who wished to behold it.
Radulf, at that time bishop of Sees, and afterwards arch-
bishop of Canterbury, with fortunate temerity, handled and
displayed the uncorrupted body ; for it had become matter of
doubt with certain persons whether the miracle of the incor-
ruption of the corpse, which had formerly been reported, still
had effect. About the same time, in the monastery of Ely,
under abbat Richard, the virgin reliques of St. Etheldritha,
subjects of amaze and reverence to the beholders, were seen
entire. This monastery, lately changed by king Henry into
a bishopric, had Hervey, as its first prelate ; who, from the
scantiness of its revenues, had deserted Bangor, where he
had been enthroned. And that the bishop of Lincoln might
not complain of the mutilation of his diocese, the king made
up his loss, out of the possessions of Ely, and satisfied his
claim. Indeed, whatever, in his time, was unjustly purloined,
or violently taken, from the primacy of the two metropolitans
of Canterbury and York, I will relate in its proper place.
For having now ended the series of the kings, it seems
incumbent on me, to speak of that of the bishops of all
England : and here I wish I had abundant matter for
relation, in order that such splendid luminaries of the
country might no longer be lost in obscurity. Moreover,
there will perhaps be many in different parts of England,
who may say, that they have heard and read some things

A.n. 1119.] CONCLUSION, TO EARL ROBERT. 477

differently related from the mode in which I have recorded
them : but if they judge candidly, they will not, on this
account, brand me with censure : since, following the strict
laws of history, I have asserted nothing but what I have
learned either from relators, or writers, of veracity. But be
mese matters as they may, I especially congratulate myself
on being, through Christ's assistance, the only person, or at
least the first, who, since Bede, have arranged a continued
history of the English. Should any one, therefore, as I
already hear it intimated, undertake, after me, a work of a
similar nature, he may be indebted to me for having collected
materials, though the selection from them must depend upon
himself. *

Thus much then, my venerated lord, I have had to relate,
concerning the history of the English, from their first arrival
in this country, till the twentieth year of your father's most
happy reign : the remainder will occupy a separate volume,
if you condescend a kind regard to these. For when I had
finished this work, after contemplating many characters, I
determined that it ought more especially to be dedicated to
you : as, when I examine others, I observe nobility in one ;
in another military science ; in a third learning ; justice in a
fourth ; but munificence in few indeed. Thus, I admire
some things in one, some in another ; but in you the
aggregate of all. For, if ever any man was truly noble,
you certainly excel in that quality ; being descended from
the most glorious kings and earls, and resembling them in
your disposition. From the Normans, therefore, you derive
your military skill ; from the Flemings your personal
elegance ; from the French your surpassing munificence.
Of your activity in war, who can doubt, when your most
excellent father himself looks up to it ? For whenever any
tumults are reported in Normandy, he despatches you before
him, in order that, what is suspicious may be dispelled by
your valour, and peace may be restored by your sagacity.
When he returns to his kingdom, he brings you with him,
as a safeguard to him abroad, a delight at home, and an
ornament every where.

So devoted are you to literature, that though distracted by

* He probably has Henry Huntingdon in view, who wrote a Histor>- of
England shortly after him.

478 WILLIAJVI OF MALMESBURT. [b. r.

such a mass of business, you yet snatch some hours to
yourself, for the purpose either of reading, or of hearing
others. Justly do you regulate, indeed, your exalted rank
in life, neither omitting the toils of war for literature, nor
contemning literature, as some do, for mihtary service.
Here, also, the excess of your learning appears ; for, whilst
you love books, you manifest how deeply you have drunk of
the stream. For many things, indeed, are eagerly desired
when not possessed, but no person will love philosophy, who
shall not have imbibed it thoroughly. The fame of your
justice reaches even our parts ; for a false sentence has never
been extorted from you, either by elevation of rank, or by
scantiness of fortune. The person who wishes to subvert
justice, finds in your breast nothing conducive to his design,
either by the offering of presents, or by the charm of favour.
Your munificence and disregard of money, is amply shown
by the monastery of Tewkesbury ; frcin which, as I hear,
you not only do not extort presents but even return its
voluntary offerings. You must he well aware, how noble
such a proceeding is, more especially at the present time ;
how much it redounds to your glory among men, how
productive of the favour of God. Happy, then, according
to Plato, is the republic whose ruler is a philosopher, whose
fc;overeign delights not in gifts. More could I add on such
subjects, did not the suspicion of flattery on my part, and
commendable modesty on yours, restrain my tongue. In
truth, my design was, not to pass by in silence the things I
have uttered, in order that, by my agency, your worth mi^ht
reach posterity ; and that it may continue to proceed from
virtue to virtue. Moreover, it was long since my intention,
at the instance of certain persons, to subjoin to this work,
whatever I may deem of importance, according to the
successive years : but it appears advisable rather to form
another volume of such matters, than to be perpetually
adding to that already completed. Nor can any one say,
that I engage in a superfluous work, if I record the
transactions of the most celebrated among the kings of his
time. Indeed my lowly condition is much indebted to his
greatness, and will be still more so, were it for nothing else,
than his being able to pride himself on such 9- son.* For,
* Terentii Andria, i. 1.

A.t. 1119.] CONCLUSION, TO EARL ROBERT. 479

when he had most auspiciously begotten, he first commanded
you to be instructed, not superficially, as plainly appears at
tlie present day, in science ; he next made you master of a
most princely fortune ; and, at this moment he reposes his
paternal regards upon you. Let this volume then, whatever
its merits or defects, be altogether dedicated to your fame ;
in the next my life and my history will terminate together.
Farther, kindly accept this my ofiering, that I, whose judg-
ment has not erred in its choice, may be gratified by the good
wishes of my patron.

480

THE MODEEN HISTORY.

PREFACE,

ADDRESSED TO ROBERT, EARL OF GLOUCESTER.

To his most loving lord, Robert, son of king Henry, and earl
of Gloucester, William, librarian of Malmesbury, wishes,
after completing his victorious course on earth, eternal
triumph in heaven. Many of the transactions of your
father, of glorious memory, I have not omitted to record,
both in the fifth book of my Regal History, and in those
three smaller volumes, which I have intituled Chronicles.*
Your highness is now desirous that those events which,
through the miraculous power of God, have taken place in
modern time, in England, should be transmitted to posterity :
truly, like all your other desires, a most noble one. For
what more concerns the advancement of virtue ; what more
conduces to justice ; than to recognize the divine favour
towards good men, and his vengeance upon the wicked ?
What, too, can be more grateful, than to commit to the page
of history, the exploits of brave men, by whose example
others may shake off their indolence, and take up arms in
defence of their country ? As this task is committed to my
pen, I think the narrative will proceed with exacter order,
if, going back a little, I trace the series of years from the
return of the empress into England, after the death of her
husband. First, therefore, invoking the help of God,
as is fitting, and purposing to write the truth, without
listening to enmity, or sacrificing to favour, I shall begin
as follows.

* What these were is unknown, as it is believed there is no MS. of them
now to be met with.

THE EMPRESS MATILDA. 481

BOOK I.

In the twenty-sixth year of Henry king of England, which
was A.D. 1126, Henry, emperor of Germany, to whom Ma-
tilda the aforesaid king's daughter had been married, died*
in the very bloom of his life and of his conquests. Our king
was at that time residing in Normandy, to quell whatever
tumults might arise in those parts. As soon as he heard of
the death of his son-in-law, he recalled his daughter by
honourable messengers despatched for that purpose. The
empress, as they say, returned with reluctance, as she had
become habituated to the country which was her dowry, and
had large possessions there. It is well known, that several
princes of Lorraine and Lombardy came, during succeeding
years, repeatedly into England, to demand her as their sove-
reign ; but they lost the fruit of their labours, the king de-
signing, by the marriage of his daughter, to procure peace
between lumself and the earl of Anjou. He was certainly,
in an extraordinary degree, the greatest of all kings in the
memory either of ourselves, or of our fathers : and yet never-
theless, he ever, in some measure, dreaded the power of the
earls of Anjou. Hence it arose, that he broke off and an-
nulled the espousals which William, his nephew, afterwards
earl of Flanders, was said to be about to contract with the
daughter of Fulco, earl of Anjou, who was afterwards king
of Jerusalem. Hence, too, it arose, that he united a daugh-
ter of the same earl to his son William, while yet a stripling ;
and hence it was, that he married his daughter, of whom we
began to speak, after her imperial match, to a son of the
same Fulco, as my narrative will proceed to disclose.

In the twenty-seventh year of his reign, in the month of
September, king Henry came to England, bringing his
daughter with lum. But, at the ensuing Christmas, con-
vening a great number of the clergy and nobility at London,
he gave the county of Salop to his wife, the daughter of the
earl of Louvain, whom he had married after the death of
Matilda. Distressed that this lady had no issue, and fearing

* " The emperor Henry V. died on the 23rd of May, ad. 1 125 ; and in
September, a.d. 1126, king Henry returned :'*om Normandy, with nis
danght*** ^^^ «ttnjw-»6s."— Hardy.

I I

482 MODERN HISTORY. [b. i.

lest slie should be perpetually childless, with well-founded
anxiety, he turned his thoughts on a successor to the king-
dom. On which subject, having held much previous and
long-continued deliberation, he now at this council compelled
all the nobihty of England, as well as the bishops and abbats,
to make oath, that, if he should die without male issue, they
would, without delay or hesitation, accept his daughter Ma-
tilda, the late empress, as their sovereign : observing, how
prejudicially to the country fate had snatched away his son
William, to whom the kingdom by right had pertained : and,
that his daughter still survived, to whom alone the legitimate
succession belonged, from her grandfather, uncle, and father,
who were kings ; as well as from her maternal descent for
many ages back : inasmuch as from Egbert, king of the West
Saxons, who first subdued or expelled the other kings of the
island, in the year of the incarnation 800,* through a line of
fourteen kings, down to a.d. 1043, in which king Edward,
who lies at Westminster, was elevated to the throne, the line
of royal blood did never fail, nor falter in the succession; f
Moreover, Edward, the last, and at the same time the most
noble, of that stock, had united J Margaret, his grand-niece
by his brother Edmund Ironside, to Malcolm, king of Scot-
land, whose daughter Matilda, as was well known, was the
empress's mother. All therefore, in this council, who were
considered as persons of any note, took the oath : and first of
all William, archbishop of Canterbury ; next the other bi-
shops, and the abbats in like manner. The first of the laity,
who swore, was David, king of Scotland, uncle of the em-
press ; then Stephen, earl of Moreton and Boulogne, nephew
of king Henry by his sister Adala ; then Robert, the king's
son, who was born to him before he came to the throne, and
whom he had created earl of Gloucester, § bestowing on him

* " The union of the kingdoms under Egbert did not take place for
several years after his accession in 802." — Hardy.

+ This must be understood with the exception of Canute and his sons,
bei^ween Edmund Ironside, and Edward the Confessor.

J Here seems a mistake. Margaret was given to Malcolm by her bro-
ther Edgar Atheling, while in exile in Scotland, a.d. 1067. See the Saxon
Chronicle.

§ "Robert was created earl of Gloucester in the year 1119. On the
Pipe-roll, 31 Hen. I., this entry occiu^ : * Gloececestrescire. Et comit'
Qlitc, xxii. numero pro parte sua comitatus.' " — Ha&dy.

A.D.1128.J OF THE SUCCESSION. 483

in marriage Mabil, a noble and excellent woman ; a lady
devoted to her husband, and blessed in a numerous and beau-
tiful offspring. There was a singular dispute, as they relate,
between Robert and Stephen, contending with rival virtue,
which of them should take the oath first ; one alleging the
privilege of a son, the other the dignity of a nephew. Thus
all being bound by fealty and by oath, they, at that time, de-
parted to their homes ; but after Pentecost, the king sent his
daughter into Normandy, ordering her to be betrothed,* by
the archbishop of Rouen, to the son of Fulco aforesaid, a
youth of high nobility and noted courage. Nor did he him-
self delay setting sail for Normandy, for the purpose of uni-
ting them in wedlock. Which being completed, all declared
prophetically, as it were, that, after his death, they would
break their plighted oath. I have frequently heard Roger,
bishop of Salisbury, say, that he was freed from the oath he
had taken to the empress : for that he had sworn condition-
ally, that the king should not marry his daughter to any one
out of the kingdom Avithout his consent, or that of the rest of
the nobility : that none of them advised the match,. or indeed
knew of it, except Robert, earl of Gloucester, and Brian
Fitzcount, and the bishop of Louviers. Nor do I relate this
merely because I believe the assertion of a man who knew
how to accommodate himself to every varying time, as for-
tune ordered it ; but, as an historian of veracity, I write the
general belief of the people.

The remaining years of the life and reign of Henry, I
must review briefly, in order that posterity may neither be
defrauded of a knowledge of these events, nor that I may
seem to dwell on topics little relevant to this history. In
his twenty-eighth year, the king "j" returned from Normandy ;
in his twenty-ninthj a circumstance occurred in England
which may seem surprising to our long-haired gallants, who,
forgetting what they were born, transform themselves into
the fashion of females, by the length of their locks. A cer-
tain English knight, who prided himself on the luxuriancy of

• " The nuptials of Matilda with Geoffrey Plantagenet, afterwards sari
of Anjou, were celebrated in the presence of her father, in Sept. 1127." —
Hardy.

f " Henry completed the twenty-eighth year of his reign the 4th of
August, 1128 ; but the Saxon Chronicle places his return from Normandy
during the autumn of 1129." — Hardy.

il2

484 MODERN HISTORY. L8.1.

liis tresses, being stung by conscience on the subject, seemed
to feel in a dream as though some person strangled him with
his ringlets. Awaking in a fright, he immediately cut off all
his superfluous hair. The example spread throughout Eng-
land ; and, as recent punishment is apt to affect the mind,
almost all military men allowed their hair to be cropped in a
proper manner, without reluctance. But this decency was
not of long continuance ; for scarcely had a year expired,
ere all who thought themselves courtly, relapsed into their
former vice : they vied with women in length of locks, and
wherever they were defective, put on false tresses ; forgetful,
or rather ignorant, of the saying of the apostle, " If a man
nurture his hair, it is a shame to him."*

In his thirtieth year, king Henry went-iata^IcflaQMiidy.
Pope Honorius dying in this year, the church of Rome was
agitated by great contentions about electing his successor.
There were, at that time, in the city, two very celebrated
cardinals, Gregory, deacon of St. Angelo, and Peter,' caTxii-
nal-priest, son of Leo, prince of the Romans ; both noted for
learning, and activity, nor could the people easily discern
which of them more justly ought to be elected by the clergy.
^,o«i{Jl>. jThe party, however, which favoured Gregory took the lead,
an^ ordaining him pope, called him Innocent. Moreover a
rumour was disseminated among the people, that Honorius
was still just alive, and had commanded this to be done. The
promoters of this choice were, William, bishop of Praeneste,
Matthew of Albano, Conrad of Sabina, John of Ostia, Peter
of Crema, cardinal of St. Chrysogonus, and Haimer the
chancellor. But the other party, after Honorius was buried,
at the instigation of Peter's brothers, who were the most
opulent and powerful of the Romans, having elected and con-
secrated him, gave him the name of Anaclet. The chief
adviser and instigator to this ordination was Peter, bishop of
Porto, whose letter, if I subjoin it, will disclose the whole
controversy ; although it inclines rather to Anaclet.

• It is very remarkable what excessive pains were employed to prevail
on the young men to part with their locks. In the council held at London
by archbishop Anselm, a.d. 1102, it is enacted, that those who had long
hair should be cropped, so as to show part of the ear, and the eyes. From
the apparently strange manner in which this fashion is coupled in Edmer,
p. 81, one might be led to suspect, it was something more than mere spleen
which caused thin enactment. See also Orderic. Vitalis.

A-D- 1130.] OF THE pope's ELECTION. 485

" Peter, bishop of Porto, to the four bishops, William of
Praeneste, Matthew of Albano, Conrad of Sabina, John of
Ostia. How great is the tribulation of my heart for you, he
only knows, who knows all things ; indeed, you would have
already been acquainted with it, in part, by my letters, did
not the sentence and the common authority of the church
prohibit. Of the praise or dispraise of those persons, con-
cerning whom various discourses are at present held, it is
not of this world to judge : there is who may seek and judge.
But if any be ready to accuse, one will be ready, and who is
also bound, to reply ; more especially when both in your and
my sight, and in that of the whole church, each of them has
lived discreetly and honestly ; and has hitherto executed his
office impartially. It rather concerns you to abstain from
idle language and the words of haste. If the question be of
report, the business is far different from what your letters to
me declare. In addition to this, if you regard the accounts
you have published, and the order of proceeding, with due
reverence be it spoken, by what boldness, by what assurance,
do you presume to call that usurpation of yours an election ?
Why do you call that man of yours ordained, when there
was no order whatever in his case ? Have you so learned to
elect a pope ? What, in a corner, in a hidden place, in dark-
ness, and in the shadow of death ? If you were desirous
that a living should succeed to a dead pope, why would you
give out that the deceased was still alive? It were much
better, surely, to pay the last sad offices to the dead, and in
this manner provide for the succour of the living: but,
behold, while you seek succour for the living from the dead,
you destroy both the living and the dead at the same time.
Lastly, it was neither your office nor mine to elect; but
rather to refuse, or to approve, when elected by the brethren.
Since, therefore, in neglect of the ritual, contempt of the
canon, and disregard of the very anathema, framed by your-
selves ; without consulting me, your superior, or your elder
brethren and superiors, or even summoning, or waiting for
them ; when you were inexperienced, and but very few in
number, you have presumed to do this ; you must be sen-
sible, from your own estimation of the case, that it must be
considered void and of no avail whatever. The Lord, how-
ever, was quickly present to us, and pointed out a method

486 MODERN HISTORY. La. i.

whereby to obviate your error. For, indeed, your brethren
the cardinals, who possess the chief power of electing, to-
gether with the whole clergy, at the request of the people,
and with the consent of the nobility, openly, in the light of
day, have unanimously, and heartily, elected the noble car-
dinal Peter, as Roman pontiff, by the title of Anaclet. I
have witnessed this election canonically celebrated ; and con-
firmed it by the authority of God. The church accepts and
venerates him ; and, by the grace of God, the bishops and
abbats, chief princes and barons, some by themselves, and
others by their delegates, acknowledge him in our presence.
The robbery and cruelty you mention, I do not perceive :
whoever goes to him for consultation, or on business, is
kindly received, and still more kindly dismissed. Return,
then, return to your understanding, do not make a schism in
the church, to the perdition of souls : do not persist any far-
ther ; let the fear of God possess you, not worldly shame :
does any sleep, will he not add, that he must rise again?
Cease now from lies, in which the wicked put their hope.
The lord Tiburtius hath testified by oath, in writing, that I
have deemed the deacon of St. Angelo, the only fit person
for the office of pope : let him look to what he hath said : I
have spoken nothing in secret; no person hath ever heard
such a word as this from my mouth. My opinion always
I was, that till the pope was buried no mention should be
/ made of his successor. I have held, and will hold, the unity
of the church ; I will be careful to adhere to truth and jus-
tice; confidently hoping, that truth and justice will set me
free."

After this manner wrote the aforesaid Peter, bishop ot
Porto, rather partial to Peter, the son of Leo. Nor did the
other party at all give way ; but called Peter himself a lion's
whelp,* and his partizans, the leaders of a faction. And
they, indeed, acted variously among themselves, under these
doubtful circumstances. Innocent, however, excluded from
Rome, passed the Alps and went into France. Here he was
immediately received by all the churches on this side the
mountains ;\ and moreover, even king Henry, who did not
very well know how to be driven from an opinion he had
once taken up, willingly acknowledged him at Chartres ; y
• An allusion to his name, which signifies a lion. ^

A.D. 1131.] DEATH OF ANACLET. 487

and, at Rouen, condescended to honour him, not only with
presents from himself, but also from the nobility, and ereu
the Jews. Yet Innocent, though greatly assisted by the
kings of England and France, and the emperor of Germany,
could never enjoy peace so long as Anaclet occupied the see
of Rome. However, Anaclet himself dying in the eighth
year of his usurped papacy, as it was called, Innocent enjoys
the papal dignity unmolested to the present time. *

In the thirty-first year of his reign, king Henry returned
to England. The empress, too, in the same year, arrived on
her native soil, and a full meeting of the nobility being held
at Northampton, the oath of fidelity to her was renewed by
such as had already sworn, and also taken by such as
hitherto had not. In the same year| Lewis, king of France,
growing aged and unwieldy through extreme corpulency,
commanded his son to be crowned as successor to the king-
dom; who dying soon after by the fall of his horse, he
caused another of his sons to be consecrated king, by the
hands of the Roman pontiff. He, as they relate, not dege-
nerating from the ancient valour of the French, hath also
acquired Aquitain, as the marriage portion of his wife,
which, it is well known, the kings of France have never held
in their own right since Lewis, son of Charles the Great.

In the thirty -first J [second] year of king Henry, a dread-
ful murrain among domestic animals extended over the
whole of England. Entire herds of swine suddenly pe-
rishedTT whole stalls of oxen were swept off in a moment:
the same contagion continued in the following years, so that
no village throughout the kingdom was free from this ca-
lamity, or able to exult at the losses of its neighbours. At
this time, too, the contention between Bernard, bishop of St.
David's, and Urban, of Landaff, on the rights of their dio-
ceses, which Urban had illegally usurped, was finally put to

• Pope Innocent died a.d. 1143.

+ " Philippe, eldest son of Louis VI, was consecrated by command of
his father on the 14th April, 1129 ; but meeting with an accidental death
on the 13th October, 1131, the king, twelve days afterwards, caused his
second son, Louis, to be crowned at Rheims by the Roman pontiff, Inno-
cent II." — Hardy.

J Both the printed copy and the MSS., which have been consulted, read
here tricesimo primo, ' thirty-first,' [1131] ; but it should be the thirty-
second, 1132. — See Hen. Hunt.

488

MODERN HISTORY.

rest. For, after being agitated by so many appeals to the
court of Rome, so many expensive journeys, so many debates
of lawyers, for a number of years, it was at last terminated,
or rather cut short, by the death of Urban at Rome. The
pope also, weighing the equity of the case, did justice to the
piety and right of the bishop of St. David's by a suitable
judgment. In the same year William, archbishop of Can-
terbury, personally obtained the legation of England, through
the indulgence of the see of Rome.

The day after the thirty-second* year of his reign was
completed, Henry, on the nones of August, the very day on
which he had formerly been crowned at Westminster, set sail
for Normandy. | This was the last, the fatal voyage of his
reign. The providence of God, at that time, bore reference
in a wonderful manner to human affairs : for instance, that
he should embark, never to return alive, on that day on
which he had originally been crowned, so long and prosper-
ously to reign. I It was then, as I have said, the nones of
August; and, on the fourth day of the week, the elements
manifested their sorrow at this great man's last departure.
For the sun on that day,f at the sixth hour, shrouded his
glorious face, as the poets say, in hideous darkness, agitating
the hearts of men by an eclipse : and on the sixth day of the
week, early in the morning, there was so great an earth-
quake, that the ground appeared absolutely to sink down;
a horrid sound being first heard from beneath the surface.
During the eclipse I saw stars around the sun : and, at the
time of the earthquake, the wall of the house in which I was
sitting was lifted up by two shocks, and settled again with
a third. The king, therefore, continued in Normandy for

* " Malmesbury seems to have committed two oversights here. Henry
\rent to Normandy for the last time on the third before the nones of Au-
gust, (that is, third, instead of fifth), a.d. 1133. This is evident from the
eclipse he mentions, which took place on that day, as well as from the tes-
timony of the continuator of Florence of Worcester, a contemporary
writer." — Sharpe. " Although all the MSS. read • tricesimo secundo,'
yet it is evident, from the context, that it should be ' tricesimo tertio ;' the
completion of Henry's thirty -third regnal year being on the 4th of August,
1133. This, and other passages show, that Malmesbury reckoned Henry's
reign to commence on the 5th of August, the day of his consecration, and
not on the 2nd of that month, the day of his brother's death." — Hardy.

t " The eclipse of the sun took place on the 2nd of August, 1133, at
mid-day." — Hardy.

4.0.1093.] DEATH OF HENRY I. 489

the space of t. jee* whole years, and so much longer, as from
the nones of August, on which day, as has been said, he
crossed the sea, to the kalends of December, on which night
he died. Doubtlessly he performed many things worthy of
record while in Normandy, v but it was my design to omit
whatever did not come authenticated to my knowledge.)
Divers expectations of his return to England were all frus-
trated, by some adverse fate, or by the will of God.

He reigned, then, thirty-five years, and from the nones of
August to the kalends of December, that is, four months,
wanting four days. Engaged in hunting at Lihun, he was
taken suddenly iU. His malady increasing, he summoned to
him, Hugo, whom, from prior of Lewes, he had made abbat
of Reading, and afterwards archbishop of Rouen, who was
justly indebted to him and his heirs for such great favours.
The report of his sickness quickly gathered the nobility
around him. Robert, too, his son, the earl of Gloucester,
was present ; who, from his unblemished fidelity and match-
less virtue, has deserved to be especially signaUzed through-
out all ages. Being interrogated by these persons, as to his
successor, he awarded all his territories, on either side of the
sea, to his daughter, in legitimate and perpetual succession ;
being somewhat displeased with her husband, as he had irri-
tated him both by threats and by certain injuries. Having
passed the seventh day of his sickness, he yielded to nature
^bout midnight. I waive describing his magnanimous charac-
ter in this place, as I have been diffuse upon it in the fifth
book of my Regal History. In how Christian a manner he
departed, the following epistle of the aforesaid archbishop of
Rouen, will testify.

" To his lord and father, pope Innocent, due obedience
from his servant, Hugo, priest of Rouen. I have deemed it
proper to write to your fatherly affection concerning the king
my master, never to be remembered but with grief: for,
being seized with sudden sickness, he wished for me to con-
sole his sufferings, and sent messengers as soon as possible
for that purpose. I went, and passed three melancholy days
with him. Agreeably to my suggestion, he confessed his
sins, he beat his breast, and he laid aside all his animosities.
Through the grace of God, and through our advice and that
* From what has been said above this should be two.

490 MODERN HISTORY. U i.

of the bishops, he promised to attend to the amendment of
his life. Under this promise, according to our office, on the
third day, and three days successively, we gave him absolu-
tion. He devoutly adored the cross of our Lord, received
his body and blood ; bestowed his alms thus ; saying, ' Let
my debts be paid, let the wages* and stipends which I owe
be discharged, let the remainder be distributed to the poor.'
I wish they who held, and do hold, his treasures had done
thus. At last I earnestly stated to him our duty concerning
the unction of the sick, which the church adopted from the
apostle St. James, and, at his own devout request, I anointed
him with holy oil. Thus he rested in peace ; and may God
grant him the peace he loved." These circumstances relating
to the faith of king Henry when dying, were truly attested
by the aforesaid archbishop of Rouen.

The body, royally attended and borne by the nobility in
turn, was brought to Rouen ; where, in a certain retired part
of the principal church, it was embowelled, lest, through
time, becoming putrid, it should offend the senses of those
who approached it. The intestines were buried in the
monastery of St. Mary des Frees, near the city, which, as I
hear, he had honoured with no mean presents, as it had been
begun by his mother. His body was kept at Caen, till the
season, which was then very boisterous, became more tran-
quil. Li the meantime, Stephen earl of Moreton and Bou-
logne, nephew of king Henry, as I have before said, who,
after the king of Scotland, was the first layman that had
sworn fidelity to the empress, hastened his return into Eng-
land by Whitsand. The empress, from certain causes, as
well as her brother, Robert earl of Gloucester, and almost all
the nobility, delayed returning to the kingdom. However,
some castles in Normandy, the principal of which was Dan-
frunt, espoused the party of the heiress. Moreover, it is
well known, that, on the day on which Stephen disembarked
in England, there was, very early in the morning, contrary

* " Liberationes," signifies, sometimes, what we now call liveries, that is
garments ; sometimes money at stated periods, or, as we should say, wages :
it is here rendered in the latter sense, as being distinct from *' solidatae,"
pay or stipends. Perhaps it was intended to distinguish two orders of per-
sons by this bequest ; Bervants and soldiers : otherwise it may mean gar-
ments and wages.

AD. 1135.J STEPHEN, KING OF ENGLAND! 491

to the nature of winter in these countries, a terrible peal of
thunder, with most dreadful lightning, so that the world
seemed well-nigh about to be dissolved. He was received,
however, as king, by the people of London and of Winches-
ter, and gained over also Roger bishop of Salisbury, and
William Pont de L'Arche, the keepers of the royal treasures.
Yet, not to conceal the truth from posterity, all his attempts
would have been vain, had not his brother, Henry bishop of
Winchester, who is now legate of the papal see in England,"
granted him his entire support : allured indeed by the fullest
expectation that Stephen would follow the example of his
grandfather William in the management of the kingdom,
and more especially in the strictness of ecclesiastical dis-
cipline. In consequence, when Stephen was bound by the
rigorous oath which William archbishop of Canterbury re-
quired from him, concerning restoring and preserving the
liberty of the church, the bishop of Winchester became his
pledge and surety. The written tenor of this oath, I shall
be careful hereafter to insert in its proper place.

Stephen, therefore, was crowned king of England on Sun-
day the eleventh* before the kalends of January, the twenty-
second day after the decease of his uncle, anno Dom. 1 1 35,
in the presence of three bishops, that is, the archbishop, and
those of Winchester and Salisbury ; but there were no abbats,
and scarcely any of the nobility. He was a man of activity,
hut imprudent : strenuous in war ; of great mind in attempt-
ing works of difficulty ; mild and compassionate to his ene-
mies, and affable to all. Kind, as far as promise went ; but
sure to disappoint in its truth and execution. Whence he
soon afterwards neglected the advice of his brother, befriended
by whose assistance, as I have said, he had supplanted his
adversaries and obtained the kingdom.

In the year of our Lord 1135, on the prevalence of gentler
gales, the body of king Henry was, immediately after Christ-
mas, put on ship-board, and brought to England ; and, in
the presence of his successor in the kingdom, was buried at
the monastery of Reading, which he had liberally endowed,
and filled with an order of monks of singular piety. Shortly
after, a little before Lent, king Stephen went into Northum-

* " The majority of contemporary writers state that Stephen's coronation
took place on the 26th December." — Hardy.

492 MODERN HISTORY. .B.

berland, that he might have a conference with David king of
Scotland, who was said to entertain hostile sentiments towards
him. From David he readily obtained what he wished ;
because, being softened by the natural gentleness of his
manners, or by the approach of old age, he willingly em-
braced the tranquillity of peace, real or pretended.

In the same year, after Easter, Robert earl of Gloucester,
of whose prudence Stephen chiefly stood in awe, came to
England. While he was yet resident in Normandy, he had
most earnestly considered, what line of conduct he should
determine upon in the present state of affairs. If he be-
came subject to Stephen, it seemed contrary to the oath he
had sworn to his sister ; if he opposed him, he saw that he
could nothing benefit her or his nephews, though he must
grievously injure himself. For the king, as I said before,
had an immense treasure, which his uncle had been accu-
mulating for many years. His coin, and that of the best
quality,* was estimated at a hundred thousand pounds;
besides which, there were vessels of gold and silver, of
great weight, and inestimable value, collected by the mag-
nificence of preceding kings, and chiefly by Henry, f A
man possessed of such boundless treasures, could not want
supporters, more especially as he was profuse, and, what by
no means becomes a prince, even prodigal. Soldiers of all
kinds, and light-armed troops, were flocking to him, chiefly
from Flanders and Brittany. These were a most rapacious
and violent race of men; who made no scruple to violate
church-yards, I or rob a church. Moreover, not only would

* " The author of the Dialogus de Scaccario states that for some time
after the Norman conquest there was very little money in specie in the
realm, and that, imtil the reign of Henry the First, all rents and farms
due to the king were rendered in provisions and necessaries for his house-
hold ; but Henry I ordered the payments to be made in money : they
were consequently made ' ad scalam,' and ' ad pensum ;' * in numero,' or
by tale ; and * per combustionem,' or melting, which latter mode was
adopted to prevent payment being made in debased money; hence perhaps
it was that Henry's money was of the best quality." — Hardy.

+ The progress of some of Henry's treasure is curious. Theobald, earl
of Blois, gave many jewels, which had been bestowed on him by Stephen,
his brother, to certain abbeys, and these again sold them for four hundred
pounds to Suger, abbat of St. Denis. Henry, Suger observes, used to have
them set in most magnificent drinking vessels. Suger, ap. Duchesne, t. iv.
p. 345.

:J: Church-yards were, by the canons, privileged, so that persons in tur-
bulent times conveyed their property thither for security.

A.D. 1135.] KING Stephen's charter. 493

they drag men of the religious order from their horses, but
also make them captive: and this was done not merely by
foreigners, but even by the native soldiers, who had ab-
horred the tranquillity of king Henry's time, because it
subjected them to a life of poverty. All these most readily
resorted to the prince whom they could easily incline to
their purposes, pushing their fortune at the expense of the
people. Stephen, indeed, before he came to the throne,
from his complacency of manners, and readiness to joke,
and sit, and regale, even with low people, had gained so
much on their affections, as is hardly to be conceived: and
already had all the nobility of England willingly acknow-
ledged him. The most prudent earl therefore was extremely
desirous to convince them of their misconduct, and recall
them to wiser sentiments by his presence; for, to oppose
Stephen's power, he was unable, from the causes aforesaid:
indeed he had not the liberty of coming to England, unless,
appearing as a partaker of their revolt, he dissembled for
a time his secret intentions. He did homage to the king,
therefore, under a certain condition; namely, so long as he
should preserve his rank entire, and maintain his engage-
ments to him; for having long since scrutinized Stephen's
disposition, he foresaw the instability of his faith.

In the same year, soon after the earl's arrival, the bishops
swore fidelity to the king, "so long as he should maintain
the liberty of the church, and the vigour of its discipline."
He himself also swore according to the tenor of the fol-
lowing instrument.

" I Stephen, by the grace of God, elected king of England
by the consent of the clergy and of the people, and conse-
Tated by the lord William, archbishop of Canterbury and
egate of, the holy Roman church, and afterwards confirmed
jj Innocent, pope of the holy Roman see, through respect
and love towards God, do grant the holy church to be free,
md confirm to it all due reverence. I promise that I will
neither do any thing simoniacally, nor permit it to be done,
in the church, or in matters ecclesiastical. The jurisdiction
and power over beneficed clergy, and over all persons in
orders, and their property, and the distribution of effects of
ecclesiastics, I admit to be in the hands of the bishops, and
confirm it so to be. I grant and appoint, that the immu-

494 MODERN HISTORY. [b. i.

nities of the churches, confirmed by their charters, and their
customs observed from ancient usage, do remain inviolate.
All the possessions of the churches, and the tenures which
they held during the life, and at the death of my grand-
father king William, I grant to them free, and discharged
from the claim of all parties : but if the church shall here-
after claim any thing held, or possessed, before the death of
the king, of which it is now deprived, I reserve such matter
for discussion, or restitution at my will and pleasure. More-
over, whatever, since that king's death, has been obtained
by the liberality of kings, or the gift of princes ; by offer-
ings, or purchase, or by any exchange of the faithful, I con-
firm. I pledge myself to keep peace, and do justice to all,
and to preserve them to my utmost ability. I reserve to
myself the forests which king William, my grandfather, and
William the Second, my uncle, have made and possessed : all
the rest which king Henry added, I give and grant, without
molestation, to the churches, and the kingdom. And if any
bishop or abbat, or other ecclesiastical person, shall have
severally distributed* his property before his death, or ap-
pointed such distribution, I allow it to remain good: but if
he shall have been suddenly seized by death, before making
a disposition, let the said distribution be made, at the dis-
cretion of the church, for the repose of his soul. More-
over, when the sees shall be vacant, let both them, and their
whole possessions, be committed into the hands and custody
of the clergy, or of lawful men of the same church, until a
pastor be canonically appointed. I entirely do away all
exactions, mischeningas,f and injustices, whether illegally

• It had been the practice to seize, to the king's use, whatever property
ecclesiastics left behind them. Henry of Huntingdon relates, that on the
death of Gilbert the Universal, bishop of London, who was remarkable for
his avarice, all his effects, and among the rest, his boots crammed with gold
and silver, were conveyed to the exchequer. Anglia Sacra, ii. 698. Some-
times, even what had been distributed on a death-bed, was reclaimed for
the king. Vide G. Neub. 3, 5. " This practice of seizing the property of
ecclesiastics at their death seems subsequently to have settled down into a
claim on the part of the king of the cup and palfrey of a deceased bishop,
prior, and abbat. See Rot. Glaus. 39 Hen. Ill, m. 17, in dorso."— Hardy.

+ It seems to have been a vexatious fine imposed on litigants when, in
their pleadings, they varied from their declaration. Murder is sometimes
taken in its present acceptation; sometimes it means a certain fine levied
on the inhabitants where murder had been committed.

A.0.1137.] THE KING LEAVES ENGLAND. 495

introduced by the sheriffs, or any one else. I will observe
the good and ancient laws, and just customs, in murders,
pleas, and other causes, and I command and appoint them to
be so observed. Done^aL, Oxford, a.d. 1136, in the first
yoar of my reign."

The names of the witnesses, who were numerous, I dis-
dain to particularize, because he as basely perverted almost
eveiy thing, as if he had sworn only that he might manifest .
himself a violator of his oath to the whole kingdom. ( This
easy man must pardon me for speaking the truth; 'who, had
he entered on the sovereignty lawfully, and not given a
ready ear to the insinuations of the malevolent in the ad-
ministration of it, would have wanted little in any princely
quality. Under him, therefore, the treasures of several
churches were pillaged, and their landed possessions given
to laymen ; the churches of the clergy were sold to foreign-
ers; the bishops made captive, or forced to alienate their
property ; the abbeys given to improper persons, either
through the influence of friendship, or for the discharge of
debts. ^Still I think such transactions are not so much to be
ascribed to him as to his advisers ; who persuaded him, that, '
he ought never to want money, so long as the monasteries
were stored with treasure, j

In the year_of our Lord 1137, in the beginning of Lent,
the kin^^ossed the sea. The earl, too, having thoroughly
sounded, andTHiscovered the inclinations of such as he knew
to be tenacious of their plighted oath, and arranged what he
conceived proper to be done afterwards, himself embarked
on Easter-day, and prosperously reached the continent. Not
long after, he had very nearly experienced the malignity of
adverse fortune : for the king endeavoured to intercept him
by treachery, at the instigation of one William de Ipres.
The earl, however, informed of it by one of the accom-
plices, avoided the snare prepared for him, and absented
himself from the palace, wMther he was repeatedly invited,
for several days. The king, troubled at having succeeded
so little by his artifices, and thinking to effect his design by
cunning, endeavoured, by a serene countenance and unre-
quired confession, to extenuate the enormity of his crime.
He swore, in words framed at the earl's pleasure, never
again to give countenance to such an outrage : and still more

*>-o^^

496 MODERN mSTORY. L«. u

to recoTer his good graces, he confirmed his oath, by Hugo,
archbishop of Rouen, giving his hand to Robert. This he
did, it is true ; but he never bestowed his unreserved friend-
ship on that man, of whose power he was ever apprehensive.
Thus, in his presence he would pleasantly and affably call
him "earl:" when he was absent, he would vilify him, and
would deprive him, clandestinely, of such portions of his
estates as he was able. Robert, too, artfully eluding his
duplicity, disguised his feelings, and allowing the king to
depart peaceably to his kingdom, continued in Normandy,
intent on his own concerns. Wherefore while Stephen,
perplexed by many conmaotions in England, and first at-
tacking one, and then another, justly verified, what was
said of Ishmael, " That the hands of all were against him,
and his hand against all," Robert passed that whole year
in Normandy in perfect quiet. The king pointedly, as it is
reported, used frequently to say of his rebellious subjects,
" Since they have elected me king, why do they desert me ?
By the birth of God, I will never be called a fallen king ! "
Robert, placed, as it were, on an eminence, watched the
event of circumstances, and earnestly revolved how he
might escape, before God and man, the imputation of falsi-
fying the oath he had sworn to his sister.

In the year of our Lord 1138, England was shaken with
intestine commotions. For many persons, emboldened to
illegal acts, either by nobility of descent or by ambition, or
rather by unbridled heat of youth, were not ashamed, some
to demand castles, others estates, and indeed whatever came
into their fancy, from the king. When he delayed complying
with their requests, alleging the dismemberment of his king-
dom, or that others would make similar claims, or were
already in possession of them ; they, becoming enraged im-
mediately, fortified their castles against him, and drove away
large booties from his lands. Nor, indeed, was his spirit at
all broken by the revolt of any, but attacking them suddenly
in different places, he always concluded matters more to his
own disadvantage than to theirs ; for, after many great but
fruitless labours, he gained from them, by the grant of honours
or castles, a peace, feigned only for a time. He created like-
wise* many earls,* where there had been none before, appro-

* JSarls, till this time, had apparently been official ; each having charge

A.D. 1139.] • TROUBLES IN ENGLAND. 497

propriating to them possessions and rents, which rightfully
belonged to the cro-v^n. They were the more greedy in ask-
ing, and he the more profuse in giving, because a rumour
was pervading England, that Robert earl of Gloucester, who
was in Normandy, would shortly espouse the cause of his
sister, after first renouncing his fealty to the king. This
report was in fact well-founded : for shortly after Pentecost,
despatching some of his people to Stephen from Normandy,
he, according to ancient usage, renounced his fealty and
friendship, and disannulled his homage ; assigning as a just
reason for so doing, that the king had illegally aspired to the
kingdom, and neglected his plighted faith to him, not to say
absolutely belied it : and, moreover, that he himself had
acted contrary to law ; who, after the oath sworn to his
sister, had not blushed to do homage to another, during her
lifetime. Doubtless also his mind was biassed by the
answers of many ecclesiastics, whom he had consulted upon
the subject ; Avho declared that he could by no means pass
the present life without ignominy, nor deserve the happiness
of the next, if he violated the oath made to paternal affection.
In additToh to this, he contemplated the tenor of the papal
degree, commanding obedience to the oath taken in the pre-
sence of his father : a copy of which decree I shall be care-
ful to give in my next book. Robert, who had imbibed
Knowledge by a copious draught from the fount of science,
was aware that these things would be of great advantage to
him hereafter. But the king, indignant at the spirit of the
earl, deprived him, as far as he was able, of all his possessions
in England ; and levelled some of his castles to the ground.
Bristol alone remained, which not only expelled the enemy,
but even harassed the king by frequent incursions. But as
it may suffice to have brought the first book of modern his-
tory, from the return of the empress to her father after the
death of her husband, to this period, I shall now begin the
second, from the year in which this heroine came to England,
to assert her right against Stephen.

of a county, and receiving certain emoluments therefrom : but these created
by Stephen, seem to have been often merely titulaiy, with endowments out of
the demesnes of the crown. Rob. Montensis calls these persons Pseudo-
Comites, imaginary earls, and observes that Stephen had completely im-

K K

498 MODERN HISTORY.

BOOK II.

[& u

In the year 1139, the venom of malice, which had long been !
nurtured in the breast of Stephen, at length openly burst
.forth. Rumours were prevalent in England, that earl
Robert was on the very eve of coming from Normandy with
his sister : and, when under such an expectation, many persons
revolted from the king, not only in inclination but in deed,
he avenged himself for this ;njury, at the cost of numbers.
He, also, contrary to the royal character, seized many at
court, through mere suspicion of hostility to him, and obliged
them to surrender their castles, and accede to any con-
ditions he prescribed. There were, at that time, two very
powerful bishops, in England, Roger of Snh'sbiijy; and his
fraternal nephew, Alexander of Lincoln. Alexander had
built the castle of Newark, as he said, for the defence and
dignity of the bishopric. Roger, who wished to manifest his

s/magnificence by building, had erected extensive castles at
Sherborne, and more especially at Devizes. At Malmesbury,
even in the church-yard, and scarcely a stone's throw from the
principal church, he had begun a castle. He had gotten into
his custody the castle of Salisbury, which being royal pro-
perty, he had obtained from king Henry, and surrounded
with a wall. Some powerful laymen, hurt at the probability
of being surpassed by the clergy, in extent of riches and
magnitude of their towns, took offence at this, and fostered
the latent wound of envy in their bofeoms. Wherefore they
poured forth their imagined grievances to the king ; observ-
ing, that the bishops, regardless of their order, were mad for
erecting castles : that none could doubt, but that they were

J designed for the overthrow of the king ; for, as soon as the
empress should arrive, they would, induced doubtless by
the recollection of her father's kindness to them, immedi-
ately greet their sovereign with the surrender of their
fortresses: that, therefore they ought to be prevented,

jjoverished the crown by his liberalities to them. Henry the Second, how-
ever, on being firmly seated on the throne, recalled their grants of crowa
lands, and expelled them the kingdom.

i..u 1139.J COUNCIL AT OXFORD. 499

and compelled to give up their strong holds ; otherwise the
king would repent too late, when he saw in the power of the
enemy, that which, had he been wise, he might have applied
to his own purpose. Such were the frequent insinuations of
the nobility. The king, though far too partial to them, for
some time pretended not to listen to what gratified his ear so
much ; assuaging the bitterness of delay, either by his respect
for the piety of the bishops, or, as I rather think, from appre-
hension of the odium he might incur, by seizing their castles.
Finally, he only postponed the execution of what the nobles
had urged him to, tiU an opportunity presented itself for his
purpose : which was as follows.

A great assembly of the nobles being held at Oxford about
the eighth before the kalends of July, the prelates above-men-
tioned also repaired thither. The bishop of Salisbury set
out on this expedition with great reluctance ; for I heard
him speaking to the following purport : " By my lady St.
Mary, I know not why, but my heart revolts at this journey :
this I am sure of, that I shall be of much the same service at
court, as a foal is in battle :" thus did his mind forbode
future evils. Here, as though fortune would seem subser-
vient to the king's wishes, a quarrel arose between the ser-
vants of the bishops and those of Alan, earl of Brittany,
about a right to quarters, which had a melancholy termina-
tion ; as the bishop of Salisbury's retainers, then sitting at
table, left their meal unfinished and rushed to the contest.
At first, they contended with reproaches, afterwards with
swords. The domestics of Alan were put to flight, and his
nephew nearly killed : nor was the victory gained without
bloodshed on the bishops' side ; for many were wounded, and
one knight* even slain. The king, eagerly seizing the op-
portunity, ordered the bishops to be convened by his old
instigators, that they might make satisfaction to his court, as
their people had infringed his peace : that this satisfaction
should be, the delivery of the keys of their castles, as pledges
of their fidelity. Though prepared to make compensation,
they hesitated at the surrender of their fortresses ; and in

* The term " miles " is very ambiguous : sometimes it is a knight ;
sometimes a trooper ; sometimes a soldier generally. In later times it sig-
nified almost always a knight ; but in Malmesbury, it seems mostly a horse-
man, probably of the higher order.

kk2

500 MODERN HISTORY. [b. ii.

consequence, lest tliey should depart, he ordered them into
close confinement. He therefore conducted bishop Roger,
unfettered, but the chancellor, the nephew, or as it was re-
ported, more than the nephew,* of the bishop, in chains, to
Devizes ; a castle, erected at great and almost incalculable
expense, not, as the prelate himself used to say, for the orna-
ment, but as the real fact is, to the detriment of the church.
;At the first summons, the castles of Salisbury, Sherborne,
and Malmesbury were yielded to the king. Devizes also
surrendered at the end of three days, after the bishop had
voluntarily enjoined himself abstinence from all food, that, by
his personal sufferings, he might subdue the spirit of the
bishop of Ely, who had taken possession j of it. Nor did the
bishop of Lincoln act more perseveringly ; for he purchased
his liberty by the surrender of his castles of Newark and
Sleaford.

This transaction of the king's gave. rise to the expression
of many different opinions. Some observed, that the bishops
were justly dispossessed of their castles, as they had built
them in opposition to the injunction of the canons : they
ought to be glad preachers of peace, not builders of houses
which might be a refuge for the contrivers of evil. Such
was the doctrine enforced with ampler reasons and discourses,
by Hugo, archbishop of Rouen : as far as his eloquence ex-
tended, the strenuous champion of the king. Others took
the opposite side of the question. This party was espoused
by Henry, bishop of Winchester, legate of England from the
papal see, and brother to king Stephen, as I have said before,
whom no fraternal affection, no fear of danger, could turn
aside from the path of truth. He spake to this effect : " If
the bishops had in anything overpassed the bounds of justice,
the judging them did not pertain to the king, but to the ec-
clesiastical canons : that they ought not to be deprived of
any possession but by a pubUc and ecclesiastical council :
that the king had not acted from zealous regard to right, but

* " Roger, the chancellor of England, was the son of Roger, bishop of
Salisbury, by Maud. of Ramsbury, his concubine." — Hardy.

t The author of the *' Gesta Stephani," says, the king ordered both bi-
shops to be kept without food, and threatened, moreover, to hang the son
of bishop Roger. Gest. Stephani, 944. The continuator of Flor. Wigom.
adds, that one was confined in the crib of an ox-lodge, the other in a vile
b^)vel, A.D. 1138.

/

LEV. 1139-: COUNCIL AT WINCHES tER. 501

with a view to his own advantage ; as he had not restored
the castles to the churches, at whose expense, and on whose
land they were built, but had delivered them to laymen, and
those by no means of religious character." Though the le-
gate made these declarations not only privately, but publicly
also before the king, and urged him to the liberation and
restitution of the bishops, yet,' being entirely disregarded, he
lost his labour. In consequence, deeming it proper to resort
to canonical power, he summoned his brother, without delay,
to be present at a council he intended to hold at Winchester,
on the fourth before the kalends of September.

On the appointed day, almost aU the bishops of England,
with Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, who had succeeded
William, came to Winchester. Thurstan, archbishop of York,
excused himself, on account of the malady with which he
was afflicted ; for he was so enfeebled, as to be hardly able
to guide his steps : the others apologized for their absence,
by letter, on account of the war. The buU of pope Innocent
was first read in the council, whereby, even from the kalends
of March, if I rightly remember, he had enjoined the ad-
ministration of his anxious charge to the lord bishop of Win-
chester, as legate in England. This was received with much
good-wiU, as the bishop had shown his forbearance by the
lapse of time, and had not proclaimed himself legate with
precipitate vanity. Next followed, in the council, his ad-
dress, in the Latin tongue, directed to the learned, on the
disgraceful detention of the bishops : " of whom the bishop
of Salisbury had been seized in a chamber of the palace,
Lincoln in his lodgings, and Ely, fearing a similar treatment,
had escaped the calamity by a hasty retreat to Devizes :"
he observed, " that it was a dreadful crime, that the king
should be so led away by sinister persons, as to have ordered
violent hands to be laid on his subjects, more especially bi-
shops, in the security of his court : that, to the king's dis-
grace was to be added the offence against God, in despoiling
the churches of their possessions, under pretext of thi) crimi-
nality of the prelates : that, the king's outrage against the
law of God, was matter of such pain to him, that he had
rather himself suffer grievous injury, both in person and
property, than have the episcopal dignity so basely humili-
ated ; moreover, that the king, being repeatedly admonished

502 MODERN HISTORY. [b. ii.

to amend his fault, had, at last, not refused that the council
should be summoned : that therefore, the archbishop and the
rest should deliberate what was proper to be done ; and he
AYould not be wanting to execute the sentence of the council,
either through regard to the friendship of the king, who was
his brother, or loss of property, or even danger of life."

When he had gradually expatiated on these matters, the
king, not distrusting his cause, sent certain * earls into the
council to demand wherefore he was summoned. The legate
briefly replied, " that, when he recollected he was in subjec-
tion to the faith of Christ, he ought not to be displeased, if,
when guilty of a crime, such as the present age had never
witnessed, he was required, by the ministers of Christ, to
make satisfaction : that it was the act of heathen nations to
imprison bishops, and divest them of their possessions : that
they should tell his brother, therefore, that if he would deign
a patient assent to his advice, he would give him such, by
the authority of God, as neither the church of Rome, nor tlie
French king's court, nor even earl Theobald, their common
brother, a man of surpassing sense and piety, could reason-
ably oppose ; but such as they ought favourably to embrace :
that, at present, the king would act advisedly, if he would
either account for his conduct, or submit to canonical judg-
ment : it was, moreover, a debt he owed, to favour the
church, by whose fostering care, not by military force, he
had been promoted to the kingdom." The earls retiring after
this speech, returned shortly with an answer prepared. They
were accompanied by one Alberic de Ver, a man deeply
versed in legal affairs. He related the king's answer, and
aggravated as much as possible the case of bishop Roger, for
bishop Alexander had departed ; but this he did with mode-
ration, and without using opprobrious language, though some
of the earls, standing by, repeatedly interrupted his harangue
by casting reproaches on the bishop. _

The sum of what Alberic had to allege, was as follows :
" That bishop Roger had greatly injured king Stephen ; that
he seldom came to court, but his people, presuming on his
power, excited tumults; that they had, frequently at other

• It has before been related that Stephen made many earls, where there
had been none before : these seem the persons intended by Malmesbury
in many places, when speaking of some of the king's adherents.

A.D.1139.] COUNCIL AT WINCHESTER. 503

places and very lately at Oxford, attacked the attendants,
and even the very nephew of earl Alan, as well as the ser-
vants of Hervey de Lyons, a man of such high nobility, and
so extremely haughty, that he had never deigned to visit
England though king Henry had invited him ; that the in-
jury, therefore, of such violence having been offered him,
doubly recoiled on king Stephen, through respect to whom
he had come hither; that the bishop of Lincoln had been
the author of the tumult excited by his followers from an-
cient enmity to Alan ; that the bishop of Salisbury secretly
favoured the king's enemies, though he disguised his subtlety
for the moment ; that the king had discovered this beyond
all doubt, from many circumstances, more especially, how-
ever, from the said bishop's having refused permission to
Roger de Mortimer with the king's soldiers whom he was
conducting, when under the greatest apprehensions from the
garrison of Bristol, to continue even a single night at
Malmesbury ; that it was in every person's mouth, that, as
soon as the empress should arrive, he would join her party, /
with his nephews and their castles ;Uhat Eoger, in consa-|^'^
c^uence, was made captive, not as a bishop but as the king^s
servant who had administered his affairs and received l»s
wage^ ;Vthat the king had not taken their castles by violence,
buFThat both bishops had surrendered them voluntarily to
escape the punishment due to the disturbance they had ex-
cited in the court; that the king had found some trifling
sums of money in the castles which must lawfully belong to
himself, as bishop Roger had collected it from the revenues
of the exchequer in the times of his uncle and predecessor
king Henry ; that the bishop had readily relinquished this
money as well as the castles through consciousness of his
offences, of which the king did not want for witnesses;
that, therefore, he was willing that the conditions entered
into by himself and the bishops should remain in force."

It was rejoined by bishop Roger, in opposition to the
speech of Alberic, that he had never been the minister of
king Stephen ; nor had he received his wages. This spirited
man, too, who blushed at being cast down by adversity,
threatened, that if he could not have justice for the property
which had been wrested from him, in that council, he would
seek it in the audience of a higher court. The legate

504 MODERN HISTORY. [b. n.

inildly, as usual, observed that every allegation against the
bishops ought to be made and the truth of it inquired into
in an ecclesiastical court, before passing sentence, contrary
to the canons, on innocent persons; that the king ought
therefore to do as was incumbent in civil courts, that is,
re-invest the bishops with their own property, otherwise,
being disseized, by the law of nations, they will not plead.

Many arguments of this kind being used on both sides,
the cause, at the king's request, was adjourned to the next
' day ; then, on the morrow, prolonged still a day farther till
V the arrival of the archbishop of Rouen.

When he came, while all were anxious to hear what he
had to allege, he said he was willing to allow the bishops
their castles if they could prove by the canons that they
ought justly to possess them ; but as they were not able to do
this it was the height of impudence to contend against the
canons. " And admitting," said he, " that it be just for
them to possess castles, yet most assuredly, as the times are
eventful, all chiefs, after the custom of other nations, ought
to deliver up the keys of their fortifications to the will of the
king, who is bound to wage war for the common security."
J Thus the whole plea of the bishops was shaken : for, either
according to the decrees of the canons, it was unjust for
them to have castles, or, if that were allowed by the king's
indulgence, they ought to yield to the^emergency of the times,
and give up the keys.

To this, the aforesaid pleader Alberic added that it had
been signified to the king that the bishops muttered among
themselves, and had even made preparation for some of their
party to proceed to Rome against him. " And this," said he,
" the king advises that none of you presume to do ; for if any
person shall go from England to any place, in opposition to
him and to the dignity of his kingdom, perhaps his return
may not be so easy. Moreover, he, as he sees himself
aggrieved, of his own accord summons you to Rome." ^Vhen
the king had sent such a message, partly advising and partly
threatening, it was perceived what was his design. In con-
sequence the council broke up, as he would not submit to
canonical censure ; and the bishops deemed it unadvisable to
enforce it against him for two reasons : first, because it was
a rash act to excommunicate the king without the knowledge

A.D. 1139.3 ARRIVAL OF EARL ROBERT. oOo

of the pope ; secondly, because they understood, or some of
them even saw, that swords were unsheathed around them.
The contention was no longer of mere words, but nearly for
life and for blood. The legate and the archbishop still, how-
ever, were anxiously observant of their duty. They humbly
prostrated themselves before the king in his chamber, en-
treating him to take pity on the church, and to consider his
soul and liis reputation, and that he would not suffer a schism
to be made between the empire and the priesthood. Although
l^_in some measure removed the odium of his former con-
duct, by condescendingly rising to them,^ yet, prevented
by ill advice, he carried none of his fair promises into
effect.

The council broke up on the kalends of September ; and
on the day previous to the kalends of October, earl Robert,
having at length surmounted every cause of delay, arrived
with the empress his sister in England, relying on the pro-
tection of God and the observance of his lawful oath ; but
with a much smaller military force than any other person
would have required for so perilous an enterprise; for he
had not with him, at that time, more than one hundred and
forty horsemen. My assertion is supported by persons of
veracity ; and did it not look like flattery, I would say that
he was not inferior to Julius Caesar, at least in resolution,
whom Livy* relates to have had but five cohorts when he
began the civil war, with which he attacked the world;
though the comparison between Julius and Robert is invidi-
ous. For Julius, an alien to the true faith, reposed his hope
on his good fortune, as he used to say, and the valour of his
legions ; Robert, celebrated for Christian piety, relied only on
the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the lady St. Mary. The
former had partizans in Gaul, in part of Germany, and Brit-
tany, and had attached to him by means of presents all the
Roman people with the exception of the senate ; the latter,
bating a very few who regarded their plighted oath, found
the nobility in England either opposing or affording him no
assistance. He landed, then, at Arundel, and for a time de-
livered his sister into the safe keeping, as he supposed, of
her mother-in-law, whom Henry, as I have before related,

• It would seem from this passage that he had seen Livy in a more com-
plete state than it exists at present.

606 MODERN HISTORY. [b. u.

had taken to his bed on the death of the empress's mother.
Himself proceeded through the hostile country to Bristol, ac-
companied, as I have heard, by scarcely twelve horsemen,
and was joined in the midst of his journey by Brian Fitz-
Count of Wallingford. Nor was it long ere he learned that
his sister had quitted Arundel ; for her mother-in-law,
through female inconstancy, had broken the faith she had
repeatedly pledged by messages sent into Normandy. The
earl, therefore, committed the empress to Henry bishop of
Winchester and Waleran earl of Mellent for safe conduct, a
favour never denied to the most inveterate enemy by honour-
able soldiers. Waleran, indeed, declined going farther than
Calne, but the bishop continued his route. The earl, there-
fore, quickly collecting his troops, came to the boundary
appointed by the king, and placed his sister in safe quarters
at Bristol. She was afterwards received into Grloucester byf
Milo, who held the castle of that city under the earl in the'
time of king Henry, doing him homage and swearing fidelity
to him ; for this is the chief city of his county.

On the nones of October one Robert Fitz-Hubert, a savage
oarbarian, by night clandestinely entering the castle of
Malmesbury, which bishop Rochester had inauspiciously
founded, and burning the town, boasted of the deed, as though
he had gained a great triumph. But, within a fortnight, his
joy was at an end, being put to flight by the king. Stephen,
in the meantime, commanded possession to be kept of the
castle, until, on the restoration of peace, it might be destroyed.
The king, moreover, before he came to Malmesbury, had
occupied, and placed a garrison in a small fortress called
Cerney, belonging to the aforesaid Milo. In consequence,
thinking he should be equally successful elsewhere, as at that
place and at Malmesbury, he assailed a castle called Trow-
bridge, belonging to Humphrey de Bohun, who was of the
empress's party, but he departed without success.

The whole country then around Gloucester to the extremity
of Wales, partly by force, and partly by favour, in the course
of the remaining months of that year, gradually espoused the
party of their sovereign the empress. The owners of certain
castles, securing themselves within their fastnesses, waited
the issue of events. The city of Hereford was taken without
difficulty J and a few soldiers, who determined on resistance,

A,all39.] BISHOP OF SAI.ISBURY's DEATH. 507

had thrown themselves into the castle, were blocked up.
The king drew nigh, if possible, to devise means for their
assistance ; but frustrated in his wishes, he retired with dis-
grace. He also approached Bristol, and going beyond it,
burnt the neighbourhood around Dunstore, leaving nothing,
as far as he was able, which could minister food to his ene-
mies, or advantage to any one.

On the third before the ides of December, Roger bishop of
Salisbury, by the kindness of death, escaped the quartan
ague which had long afflicted him. They assert that his
sickness was brought upon him through grief at the severe
and repeated injuries he had received from king Stephen,
To me it appears, that God exhibited him to the wealthy asT °
an example of the mutability of fortune, in order that they ''^r^^''
should not trust in uncertain riches, which, as the apostle \^rf
says, " while some have coveted, concerning faith have made I
shipwreck." He first ingratiated himself with prince Henry, '
who became afterwards king, by his prudence in the manage-
ment of domestic matters, and by restraining the excesses of
his household. For, before his accession, Henry had been
careful and economical in his expenses, compelled thereto by
the scantiness of his resources, and the illiberal treatment of
his brothers, William and Robert. Knowing his disposition
this way, Roger had deserved so well of him in his time of
need, that, when he came to the throne, he denied him
scarcely any thing he thought proper to ask ; gave him
estates, churches, prebends, entire abbeys of monks, and,
lastly, committed even the kingdom to his fidelity : made him
chancellor, in the beginning of his reign, and not long after,
bishop of Salisbury. Roger, therefore decided causes ; he
regulated the expenditure ; he had charge of the treasury.
Such were his occupations when the king was in England :
such, without associate or inspector, when he resided in Nor-
mandy ; which took place repeatedly, and for a long time
together. And not only the king, but the nobility, even
those who were secretly stung with envy at his good fortunej
and more especially the ministers and debtors of the king,
gave him almost whatever he could fancy. Was there any
thing contiguous to his property which might be advan-
tageous to him, he would directly extort it, either by entreaty
or purchase ; or, if that failed, by force. With unrivalled

508 MODERN HISTORY. [b. ii.

magnificence in their construction, as our times may recollect,
he erected splendid mansions on all his estates ; in merely-
maintaining which, the labour of his successors shall toil in
vain. His cathedral he dignified to the utmost with match-
less ornaments and buildings on which no expense was spared.
It was truly wonderful to behold in this man, what abundant
power attended him in every kind of dignity, and flowed as
it were to his hand. How great was the glory, indeed, what
could exceed it, that he should have made his two nephews,
by virtue of his education, men of noted learning and indus-
try, bishops ; and, not of mean sees ; but of Lincoln and
Ely, than which, I know not whether there be more opulent
in England ? He was sensible of his power, and, somewhat
more harshly than became such a character, abused the
favours of heaven. Lastly, as a certain poet observes of a
rich man,*

" He builds, destroys, and changes square for round,"

SO Roger attempted to turn abbeys into bishoprics, and
bishoprics into abbeys. The most ancient monasteries of
Malmesbury and Abbotsbury, he annexed, as far as he was
able, to his see. He changed the priory of Sherborne, which
is subject to the bishop of Salisbury, into an abbey ; and the
abbey of Hortun was forthwith dissolved and united to it
These events took place in the time of king Henry, under
whom, as I have observed, his prosperity reached its zenith :
for under Stephen, as I have before related, it began to de-
cline ; except that in the beginning of his reign, he obtained
for one of his nephews, the chancellorship ; for the other the
office of treasurer; and for himself the town of Malmes-
bury ; the king repeating often to his companions, " By the
birth of Grod, I would give him half England, if he asked for
it : till the time be ripe, he shall tire of asking, ere I tire of
giving." But j]gj:iiuie, who, in former times, had flattered
him so long and so transcendently, at last cruelly pierced liim
with scorpion-sting. Such was that instance, when he saw
those whom he dearly regarded, wounded ; and his most
favoured knight killed before his face ; the next day, liim-
self, and, as I said before, his nephews, very powerful bishops,
ths one compelled to fly, the other detained, and the third, a

• Herat. Epist. u 1, 100.

A. D. 1140] DISTRESSED STATE OF ENGLAJ^TD. 509

young man to whom he was greatly attached, bound with
chains : on the surrender of his castles, his treasures pillaged,
and himself afterwards, in the council, loaded with the most
disgraceful reproaches. Finally, as he was nearly breathing
his latest sigh, at Salisbury, the residue of his money and
utensils, which he had placed upon the altar for the purpose
of completing the church, was carried off against his will.
The height of his calamity, was, I think, a circumstance
which even I cannot help commiserating ; that, though he
appeared wretched to many, yet there were very few who
pitied him : sO much envy and hatred had his excessive
power drawn on him, and undeservedly, too, from some of
those very persons whom he had advanced to honour.

In the year of the Incarnate Word 1140, the monks of
those abbeys which Roger had unjustifiably usurped, waiting
on the king, were permitted to enjoy their ancient privileges,
and abbats, as formerly. John, a monk of that place, a man
highly celebrated for the affability of his manners and the
liberality of his mind, was elected abbat of Malmesbury by
the monks, according to the tenor of the privilege which St.
Aldhelm had obtained from pope Sergius four hundred and
sixty-six years before, and had caused to be confirmed by
the kings, Ina of the West Saxons, and Ethelred of the Mer-
cians. The legate approved the claim, but disapproved of the
person : for he could not be induced to believe that the king
had consented to the election but by a gift in money. And,
indeed, a small sum had been promised, on the score of libera-
ting the church, not for the election of the person. Where-
fore John, though taken off by a premature death within the
year, still left a lasting and laudable memory of himself to
all succeeding ages. For no monk of that place, I confess
the truth, would have pursued a task of such difficulty, had
not John begun it. Wherefore let his successors be praised,
if they shall preserve the liberty of that church ; he certainly
rescued it from thraldom.

The whole of this year was embittered by the horrors of i
war. There were many eastles-throughout England, each
defending their neighbourhood, but, more properly speaking,
laying it waste. The garrisons drove off from the fields,
both sheep and cattle, nor did they abstain either from
churches or church-yards. Seizing such of the country

510 MODERN HISTOKF. Lb. u.

vavassours * as were reputed to be possessed of money, they
compelled them, by extreme torture, to promise whatever
they thought fit. Plundering the houses of the wretched
husbandmen, even to their very beds, they cast them into
prison ; nor did they liberate them, but on their giving every
thing they possessed or could by any means scrape together,
for their release. Many calmly expired in the midst of
torments inflicted to compel them to ransom themselves,
bewailing, which was all they could do, their miseries to
God. Ajid, indeed, at the instance of the earl, the legate,
with the bishops, repeatedly excommunicated all violators
of church-yards and plunderers of churches, and those who
laid violent hands on men in holy or monastic orders, or
their servants : but this his attention profited but little. It
was distressing, therefore, to see England, once the fondest
cherisher of peace and the single receptacle of tranquillity,
reduced to such a pitch of misery, that, not even the bishops,
nor monks, could pass in safety from one town to another.
Under king Henry, many foreigners, who had been drivei?
from home by the commotions of their native land, were
accustomed to resort to England, and rest in quiet under his
fostering protection : in Stephen's time, numbers of free-
booters from Flanders and Brittany flocked to England,
in expectation of rich pillage. Meanwhile, the earl of
Gloucester conducted himself with caution, and his most
earnest endeavours were directed to gaining conquests with
the smaller loss to his adherents. Such of the English
nobility as he could not prevail upon to regard the
obligation of their oath, he held it sufficient if he could
so restrain, that, if they did not assist, they would not
injure the cause : being willing, according to the saying
of the comic writer, " To do what he could, when he could
not do what he would." But when he saw the opportunity
present itself, he strenuously performed the duty both of
soldier and of general ; more especially, he valiantly sub-
dued those strong holds, which were of signal detriment to
the cause he had espoused ; that is to say, Harpetrey, which
king Stephen had taken from certain soldiers of the earl
before he came to England, and many others ; Sudley,

• The meaning of vavassdur is very various : here it seems to impi}
what we call a yeoman.

A. D. 1140.] ROBERT FITZ-HUBERT. 511

Cerney, which the king had garrisoned, as I have said ; and
the castle which Stephen had fortified over against Walling-
ford, he levelled to the ground. He also, in these difficult
times, created his brother Rainald, earl of Cornwall. Nor
indeed did the king show less spirit in performing the duties
of his station ; for he omitted no occasion of repeatedly-
beating off his adversaries, and defending his own posses-
sions. But he failed of success, and all things dechned, for
lack of justice. Dearth of provisions, too, increased by
degrees, and the scarcity of good money was so great, from
its being counterfeited, that, sometimes out of ten or more
shillings, hardly a dozen pence would be received. The king
himself was reported to have ordered the weight of the
penny7 as established in king Henry's time, to be reduced,,
because, having exhausted the vast treasures of his prede-l
cessor, he was unable to provide for the expense of so many
soldiers. All things, then, became venal in England ; and
churches and abbeys were no longer secretly, but even
publicly exposed to sale.

During this year, in Lent, on the thirteenth before the
kalends of April, at the ninth hour of the fourth day of the
week, there was an eclipse, throughout England, as I have
heard. With us, indeed, and with all our neighbours, the
obscuration of the sun was so remarkable, that persons
sitting at table, as it then happened almost every where,
for it was Lent, at first feared that chaos was come again :
afterwards learning its cause, they went out, and beheld theJ-
stars around the sun. It was thought and said by many,
not untruly, that the king would not continue a year in the
government.

In the following week, that is, during the time of the
Passion, on the seventh before the kalends of April, the
forementioned barbarian, Robert Fitz-Hubert, a character
well calculated for the stratagems of war, surprised the
castle of Devizes : * a man, by far the most cruel of any
within the circle of this age's memory : blasphemous, also,
towards God. He used voluntarily to boast of having been
present at a place where twenty-four monks were burnt,
together with the church, declaring, that he too would

* This he effected by means of scaling ladders, made of thongs of
kather. Gest. Stephani, 951.

512 MODERN HISTORY. [b. ii.

frequently do the like in England, and grieve God, by the
plunder of the church of Wilton ; and the destruction of
Malmesbury, with the slaughter of all its monks : that he
would return them this good ofiBce, because they had admitted
the king, to his disadvantage : for of this he accused them,
though without foundation. I myself have heard, when, at
any time, which was extremely rare indeed, he liberated his
captives without torture, and they thanked him for it, on the
part of God, I have heard him, I say, reply ; " never let
God owe me any thanks." He used to expose his prisoners,
naked and rubbed with honey, to the burning heat of the
sun ; thereby exciting flies, and other insects of that kind,
to sting them. But, having now got possession of Devizes,
he hesitated not to boast, that, he should gain, by means of
this castle, the whole district from Winchester to London ;
and that he would send to Flanders for soldiers to defend
him. While meditating, however, such a scheme, divine
vengeance overtook him through the agency of one John
Fitz-Gilbert, a man of suprising subtlety, who had a castle
at Marlborough. For being thrown into chains by him,
because he refused to surrender Devizes to his sovereign,
the empress, he was hanged, like a common thief. Wonderful
was the judgment of God on this sacrilegious wretch, that
he should meet with such an ignominious end, not from the
king, to whom he was inimical, but from the very persons
he appeared to favour. The authors of his death ought
worthily to be extolled, for having freed the country from
such a pest, and justly despatched an intestine enemy.

In the same year, during Pentecost, the king resided at
London, in the Tower, attended only by the bishop of Sees,
for the others disdained, or feared, to come thither. Some
little time after, by the mediation of the legate, a conference
was appointed between the empress and the king, that, if
possible, by the inspiration of God, peace might be^restored.
To this conference, near Bath, were sent on the part of the
empress, her brother Robert, and others of her friends : on
the king's, the legate, the archbishop, and also the queen.
But they wasted words and time, to no purpose, and departed
without being able to conclude a peace. Nor was the ground
of separation equal on both sides, as the empress, more
inclined to justice, had declared, that she was not averse to

A.D. 1141.] SIKGE OF LI^'COLN. 513

the decision of the church : but the king most cautiously
arvoided this ; fondly trusting to the counsels of those persons
who loved nothing less than peace, so long as they could
make their ascendency over him answer their own purposes.
In the latter end of September, the legate, who knew that it
was the especial duty of his office to restore peace, under-
taking the toil of a foreign voyage for its accomplishment,
hastened to sail over to France. Here, a long and anxious
discussion, for tranquillizing England, taking place, between
the king of France, earl Theobald, and many of the clergy,
he returned, nearly at the end of November, bringing back
counsels wholesome for the country, could they have been
carried into effect. And indeed the empress and the earl
assented to them immediately, but the king delayed from day
to day, and finally rejected them altogether. Upon this, at
last, the legate discontinued his exertions, waiting, like the
rest, for the issue of events : for what avails it to swim
against the stream ? and, as some one observes, " To seek
odium only by one's labours is the height of madness." [

BOOK III

I NOW attempt to give a clue to the mazy labyrinth of events
and transactions which occurred in England, during the year
1141^* -lest posterity, through my neglect, should be unac-
quainted with them; as it is of service to know the volu-
bility of fortune and the mutability of human estate, God
only permitting or ordaining them. And, as the moderns
greatly and deservedly blame our predecessors, for having
left no memorial of themselves or their transactions since the
days of Bede, I think I ought to be very favourably regarded
by my readers, if they judge rightly, for determining to
remove this reproach from our times.

King Stephen had peaceably departed from the county of
Lincoln before Christmas, and had augmented the honours of

• Several MSS., as well as the printed copy, read 1142, but one has
1141, which is right.

L L

514 MODERN HISTORY. [b. in.

the earl of Chester, * and of his brother ; of whom the eai'l,
long since, in the time of king Henry, had been married to
the daughter of the earl of Gloucester. In the mean while,
the citizens of Lincoln, who wished to acquire great favour
with the king, certified him by a message, when resident in
London, that the two brothers had taken up their abode in
security, in the castle of that city: and that, suspecting
nothing less than the arrival of the king, they might be very
easily surprised, while themselves would provide that he
should get possession of the castle as secretly as possible.
As Stephen never wished to neglect any opportunity of aug-
menting his power, he gladly repaired thither. In conse-
quence, the brothers were surprised and besieged, even in
the Christmas holidays. This step appeared unjustifiable to
many, because, as I have observed, he had left them before
the festival, without any suspicion of enmity; nor had he,
even now, after ancient usage, abjured his friendship with
them, which they call " defying." However, the earl of
Chester, though surrounded with imminent dangers, adroitly
escaped from the castle. By what management this was
accomplished I know not ; whether through consent of some
of the besiegers, or whether, because valour, when taken by
surprise, frequently tries variety of methods, and often dis-
covers a remedy for its emergencies. Not content with his
own escape, he earnestly cast about, how to devise the
safety of his brother and of his wife, whom he had left in
the fortress. The more prudent mode seemed to be, to
request assistance from his father-in-law, although he had
long since ofiended him on many accounts, but principally
because he appeared staunch to neither party. He sent
messengers, therefore, promising eternal fidelity to the em-
press, if, induced more by affectionate regard than any desert
of his, he would rescue those from danger, who were already
in the very jaws of captivity.

Unable to endure this indignity, the earl of Gloucester
readily assented. Weary of delay, too, as the fairest country
was harassed with intestine rapine and slaughter, for the sake
of two persons, he preferred bringing the matter to an issue
at once, would God permit. He hoped, also, for the Divine

* " Ranulf, earl of Chester, and his uterine brother, WiUiam de Romare,
were the sons of Lucia, countess of Lincoln." — Hardy.

A.r. 1141.] STEPHEN DEFEATED. 515

assistance on his undertaking, as the king had molested his
son-in-law, without any fault on his part; was at that
moment besieging his daughter; and had castellated the
church of the holy mother of God in Lincoln. How much
ought these things to weigh in the mind of a prince ? Would
it not be better to die, and fall with honour, than endure so
marked a disgrace? For the sake then of avenging God,
and his sister, and liberating his relations, he entered on this
perilous undertaking. The supporters of his party readily
accompanied him ; the major part of whom being deprived
of their inheritances, were instigated to hostility by rage at
their losses, and the consciousness of their valour. However,
during the whole extended march, from Gloucester to Lin-
coln, he studiously concealed his intention, leaving all the
army, with the exception of a very few, in suspense, by his
mysterious conduct.

At length, on the day of the Purification of the blessed
Mary, they arrived at the river flowing between the two
armies, called the Trent, which, from its springs, together
with floods of rain, had risen so high, that it could not pos-
sibly be forded. Here, at last, disclosing his intention to his
son-in-law, who had joined him with a strong force, and to
those he had brought with him, he added, that, " He had
long since made up his mind, never to be induced to fly, be
the emergency what it might; if they could not conquer,
they must die or be taken." All encouraged him to hope the
best ; and, wonderful to hear, though on the eve of hazard-
ing a battle, he swam over the rapid river I have mentioned,
with the whole of his party. So great was the earl's ardour
to put an end to calamity, that he preferred risking extre-
mities to prolonging the sufferings of the country. The
king, too, with many earls, and an active body of cavalry,
abandoning the siege, courageously presented himself for bat-
tle The royalists began the prelude to the fight, which they
call the "joust,"* as they were skilled in that exercise: but
when they saw that the consular party, if they may be so
called, did not attack from a distance with lances, but at
close quarters with swords, and broke the king's ranks with
violent and determined onset, the earls, to a man, for six of

* The joust signifies a contest between two persons on horseback, with
fences : each singled out his opponent.

LL 2

516 MODERN HISTORY. [b. hi.

them had entered the conflict, together with the king, con-
sulted their safety by flight. A few barons, of laudable
fidelity and valour, who would not desert him, even in his
necessity, were made captive. The king, though he by no
means wanted spirit to defend himself, being at last attacked
on every side by the earl of Grloucester's soldiers, fell to the
ground by a blow from a stone ; but who was the author of
this deed is uncertain. Thus, when all around him were
either taken or dispersed, he was compelled to yield to cir- j
cumstances and become a captive. On which the truly noble '
earl of Gloucester commanded the king to be preserved un-
injured, not suff'ering him to be molested even with a
reproach; and the person, whom he had just before fiercely
attacked when dignified with the sovereignty, he now calmly
protected when subdued: that the tumults of anger and of
joy being quieted, he might show kindness to his relation,
and respect the dignity of the diadem in the captive. The
citizens of Lincoln were slaughtered on aU sides by the just
indignation of the victors, and without commiseration on the
part of the conquered, as they had been the origin and
fomenters of this calamity.

The king, according to the custom of such as are called
cajjtives, was presented to the empress, at Gloucester, by her
"brother, and afterwards conducted to Bristol. Here, at first,
he was kept with every mark of honour, except the liberty
of going at large : but in succeeding time, through the pre-
sumption of certain persons, who said openly and contu-
meliously, that it did not behove the earl to treat the king
otherwise than they chose ; and also, because it was reported,
that having either eluded or bribed his keepers, he had been
found, more than once, beyond the appointed limits, more
especially in the night-time, he was confined with fetters.

In the meanwhile, both the empress and the earl dealt by
messengers with the legate his brother, that he should forth-
with receive her into the church,* and to the kingdom, as
the daughter of king Henry, to whom all England and Nor-
mandy had sworn allegiance. This year, the first Sunday
in Lent happened on the fourteenth before the kalends of
March. By means of negotiators on either side, the business
was so far forwarded, that they agreed to meet in conference,

• That is, as appears after, to acknowledge her publicly as their sovereigiv

A,D.1141.] CONFERENCE AT WINCHESTER. 517

on an open plain on this side of Winchester. They assembled,
therefore, on the third Sunday in Lent, a day dark and rainy,
as though the fates would portend a woeful change in this
affair. The empress swore, and pledged her faith to the bi
shop, that all matters of importance in England, and especi-
ally the bestowing of bishoprics and abbeys, should await his
decision, if he, with the holy church, would receive her as
sovereign, and observe perpetual fidelity towards her. Her
brother, Robert, earl of Gloucester, swore as she did, and
pledged his faith for her, as did also Brian Fitz-count, lord
Marcher* of Wallingford, and Milo of Gloucester, afterwards
earl of Hereford, with some others. Nor did the bishop
hesitate to receive the empress as sovereign of England, and,
together with certain of his party, to pledge his faith, that so
long as she did not infringe the covenant, he would observe
his fidelity to her. On the morrow, which was the fifth be-
fore the nones of March, a splendid procession being formed,
she was received in the cathedral of Winchester ; the bishop-
legate conducting her on the right side, and Bernard, bishop
of St. David's, on the left. There were present also, Alex-
ander, bishop of Lincoln, Robert of Hereford, Nigel of Ely,
Robert of Bath : the abbats, Ligulf of Abingdon, Edward of
Reading, Peter of Malmesbury, Gilbert of Gloucester, Roger
of Tewkesbury, and some others. Li a few days, Theobald,
archbishop of Canterbury, came to the empress at Winches-
ter, by invitation of the legate : but he deferred promising
fidelity to her, deeming it beneath his reputation and charac-
ter to change sides, till he had consulted the king. In con-
sequence, he, and many other prelates, with some few of the
laity, were allowed to visit Stephen and converse with him :
and, graciously obtaining leave to submit to the exigency of
the times, they embraced the sentiments of the legate. The
anpress passed Easter, which happened on the third before
the kalends of April, at Oxford ; the rest returned to their
respective homes.

On the day after the octaves of Easter, a council began,

* Marchio : this latterly signified marquis in the sense we now use it ;
but in Malmesbury's time, and long after, it denoted a guardian of the
borders : hence the lords marchers on the confines of Scotland and Wales ;
though it does not appear very clearly how this should apply to Wal-
lii^gford, unless it was is his place of birth.

518 MODERN HISTORY. [b. in.

vnih great parade, at Wincliester, consisting of Theobald,
archbishop of Canterbury, all the bishops of England, and
many abbats : the legate presiding. Such as were absent,
accounted for it by messengers and letters. As I was pre-
sent at the holding of this council, I will not deny posterity
the truth of every circumstance ; for I perfectly remember
it. On the same day, after the letters were read by which
some excused their absence, the legate called the bishops
apart, and discoursed with them in secret of his design ; then
the abbats, and, lastly, the archdeacons were summoned. Of
his intention nothing transpired publicly, though what was
to be done engrossed the minds and conversation of all.

On the third day of the week, the speech of the legate ran
nearly to this effect : " That, by the condescension of the
pope, he acted as his vicegerent in England : wherefore, by
his authority, the clergy of England were assembled at this
council to deliberate on the peace of the country, which was
exposed to imminent danger : that, in the time of king Hen-
ry, his uncle, England had been the peculiar abode of peace ;
so that by the activity, and spirit, and care of that most
excellent man, not only the natives, of whatever power or
dignity, dared make no disturbance ; but, by his example,
each neighbouring king and prince, also, yielded to peace,
and either invited, or compelled, his subjects to do the like :
moreover, that this king, some years before his death, had
caused the whole realm of England, as well as the duchy of
Normandy, to be engaged, by the oaths of all the bishops and
barons, to his daughter, late the empress, who was his only
surviving issue by his former consort, if he should fail of
male offspring by the wife he had espoused from Lorraine :
and adverse fortune," said he, " was envious of my most ex-
cellent uncle, and suffered him to die in Normandy without
male issue. Therefore, as it seemed long to wait for a sove-
reign who delayed coming to England, for she resided in
Normandy, we provided for the peace of the country, and my
brother was allowed to reign. And although I gave myself
as surety between him and God, that he would honour and
advance the holy church, and uphold good, but abrogate evil,
laws ; yet it grieves me to remember, shames me to say,
how he conducted himself in the kingdom : how justice
ceased to be exerted against the daring ; how all peace was

A.D. 1141.] MATILDA ELECTED SOVEREIGN 519

annihilated, almost within the year : the bishops made cap-
tive, and compelled to give up their possessions ; the abbeys
sold ; the churches robbed of their treasures ; the counsels
of the abandoned regarded : while those of the virtuous were
postponed or totally despised. You know how often I ad-
dressed him, both by myself and the bishops, more especially
in the council held last year for that purpose, and that I
gained by it nothing but odium. Every one, who shall think
rightly, must be aware, that I ought to love my mortal bro-
ther, but that I should still more regard the cause of my im-
mortal Father. Wherefore, since God has exercised his
judgment on my brother, by permitting him, without my
knowledge, to fall into the hands of the powerful, I have
invited you all here to assemble by virtue of my legation, lest
the kingdom should fall to decay through want of a sovereign.
The case was yesterday agitated in private, before the major
part of the English clergy, to whose right it principally per-
tains to elect the sovereign, and also to crown him. First,
then, as is fitting, invoking God's assistance, we elect the
daughter of that peaceful, that glorious, that rich, that good,
and, in our times, incomparable king, as sovereign of Eng-
land and Normandy, and promise her fidelity and support."

When all present had either becomingly applauded his
sentiments, or, by their silence, not contradicted them, he
added : " We have despatched messengers for the Londoners,
who, from the importance of their city in England, are almost
nobles, as it were, to meet us on this business ; and have
sent them a safe-conduct : and we trust they will not delay
their arrival beyond to-morrow : wherefore let us give them
indulgence till that time."

On the fourth day of the week the Londoners came ; and
being introduced to the council, urged their cause, so far as
to say, that they were sent from the fraternity, as they call
it, of London, not to contend, but to entreat that their lord
the king might be liberated from captivity : that all the
barons, who had long since been admitted to their fellowship,
most earnestly solicited this of the lord legate and the arch-
bishop, as well as of all the clergy who were present. The
legate answered them copiously and clearly : and, that their
request might be the less complied with, the speech of the
preceding day was repeated, with the addition, that it did

520 MODERN HISTORY. (aur.

not become the Londoners, who were considered as the chief
people of England, in the light of nobles, to side with those
persons who had deserted their lord in battle ; hj whose ad-
vice the king had dishonoured the holy church ; and who, in
fact, only appeared to favour the Londoners, that they might
drain them of their money.

In the meantime, a certain person, whose name, if I
rightly remember, was Christian, a clerk belonging to the
queen, as I heard, rose up, and held forth a paper to the
legate. He having silently perused it, exalted his voice to
the highest pitch, and said, that it was informal, and impro-
per to be recited in so great an assembly, especially of digni-
fied and religious persons. For, among other offensive and
singular points, the signature of a person was affixed to it,
who, in the preceding year, at a similar council, had attacked
the venerable bishops with opprobrious language. The le-
gate thus baffling him, the clerk was not wanting to his mis-
sion, but, with notable confidence, read the letter in their
hearing ; of which this was the purport. " The queen ear-
nestly entreated the whole clergy assembled, and especially
the bishop of Winchester, the brother of her lord, to restore
the said lord to his kingdom, whom abandoned persons, and
even such as were under homage to him, had cast into
chains." To this suggestion, the legate answered to the
same effect as to the Londoners. These conferring together,
declared, that they would relate the decree of the council to
their townsmen, and give it their support as far as they
were able.

On the fifth day of the week the council broke up, many
of the royal party having been first excommunicated ; more
especially William Martel, who had formerly been cup-
bearer to king Henry, and was at that time butler to
Stephen ; for he had sorely exasperated the legate, by inter-
cepting and pilfering mu(;h of liis property. It was now a
work of great difficulty to soothe the minds of the Lon-
doners: for though these matters, as I have said, were
agitated immediately after Easter, yet was it only a few days
before the Nativity of St. John that they would receive the
empress. At that time great part of England readily sub-
mitted to her government ; her brother Robert was assidu-
ously employed in promoting her dignity by every becoming

A.D.1141.] THE EMPRESS AND THE LEGATE. 521

method ; kindly addressing the nobility, making many pro-
mises, and intimidating the adverse party, or even, by
messengers, exhorting them to peace ; and already restoring
justice, and the law of the land, and tranquiUity, throughout
every district which favoured the empress ; and it is suffici-
ently notorious that if his party had trusted to Robert's
moderation and wisdom, it would not afterwards experienced
so melancholy a reverse. The lord legate, too, appeared of
laudable fidelity in furthering the interests of the empress.
But, behold, at the very moment when she imagined she should
get^ possession of all England, every thing was changed.
The Londoners, ever suspicious and murmuring among
themselves, now burst out into open expressions of hatred ;
and, as it is reported, even laid wait for their sovereign and
her nobles. Aware of and escaping this plot, they gradually
retired from the city, without tumult and in a certain mili-
tary order. The empress was accompanied by the legate
and David king of Scotland, the heroine's uncle, together
with her brother Robert who then, as at every other time,
shared her fortune ; and, in short, all her partizans to a mai\
escaped in safety. The Londoners, learning their departure,
flew to their residence and plundered every thing which they
had left in their haste.

Not many days after, a misunderstanding arose between '
the legate and the empress which may be justly considered
as the melancholy cause of every subsequent evil in Eng-
land. How this happened I will explain. King Stephen
had a son named Eustace, begotten on the daughter of Eus-
tace earl of Boulogne. For king Henry, the father of the
empress, that I may go back somewhat to acquaint posterity
with the truth of these transactions, had given Mary, the
sister of his wife, the mother of this lady, in marriage to the
aforesaid earl, as he was of noble descent and equally re-
nowned for prudence and for valour. By Mary, Eustace
had no issue except a daughter called Matilda. When she
became marriageable, after the death of her father, the same
truly magnificent king gave her in wedlock to his nephew
Stephen, and also procured by his care the county of Bou-
logne for him, as he had before conferred on him that of
Moreton in Normandy. The legate had justly proposed that
these counties should be bestowed on his nephew Eustace^

522 MODERN HISTORY. 'b. m.

whom I mentioned, so long as his father should remain in
captivity. This the empress altogether opposed, and it is
doubtful whether she had not even promised them to others.
Offended at the repulse, he kept from her court many days ;
and though repeatedly sent for, persisted in refusing to go
thither. In the meanwhile, he held a friendly conferencejj
with the queen, his brother's wife, at Guildford, and being'
wrought upon by her tears and concessions, bent his mind to
the liberation of Stephen. He also absolved, without con-
sulting the bishops, all those of the king's party whom he
had excommunicated in the council, while his complaints
against the empress were disseminated through England,
that she wished to seize his person ; that she observed no-
thing which she had sworn to him ; that all the barons of
England had performed their engagements towards her, but
that she had violated hers, as she knew not how to use her
prosperity with moderation.

To allay, if possible, these commotions, the earl of Glou-
cester, with a retinue not very numerous, proceeded to Win-
chester ; but, failing in his endeavours, he returned to Oxford,
where his sister had for some time established her residence.
She therefore understanding, as well from what she was
continually hearing, as from what she then learned from her
brother, that the legate had no friendly dispositions towards
her, proceeded to Winchester with such forces as she could
muster. Being immediately admitted into the royal castle,
with good intentions probably she sent messengers to the
bishop, requesting that, as she was upon the spot, he would
come to her without delay. He, not thinking it safe to goJ
deceived the messengers by an evasive manner, merely
saying, "I will prepare myself:" and immediately he sent
for all such as he knew were well-disposed to the king. In
consequence almost all the earls of England came ; for they
were full of youth and levity, and preferred military enter-
prise to peace. Besides, many of them were ashamed at
having deserted the king in battle, as has been said before,
and thought to wipe off the ignominy of having fled, by at- I
tending this meeting. Few, however, attended the empress :
there were David king of Scotland, Robert earl oT Gtorp-— '
cester, Milo de Hereford, and some barons ; for Ranulf
earl of Chester came late, and to no purpose. To comprise ' ^

AD. 1141.] RETREAT OF THE EARL OF GLOUCESTER. 523

therefore, a long series of events within narrow limits : the
roads on every side of Winchester were watched by the
queen and the earls who had come with her, lest supplies
should be brought in to those who had sworn fidelity to the
empress. The town of Andover also was burned. On the
west, therefore, necessaries were procured but scantily and
with difficulty; some persons found on the road, being
intercepted and either killed or maimed ; while on the east,
every avenue towards London was crowded with supplies
destined for the bishop and his party ; Geoffrey de Mande-
ville, who had now again revolted to them, for formerly after
the capture of the king he had sworn fidelity to the empress,
and the Londoners, lending every possible assistance, and
omitting no circumstance which might distress that princess.
The people of Winchester were, though secretly, inclined to
her side, regarding the faith they had before pledged to her,
although they had been in some degree compelled by the
bishop to such a measure. Li the meanwhile combustibles
were hurled from the bishop's castle on the houses of the
townspeople, who, as I have said, rather wished success to
the empress than to the bishop, which caught and burned
the whole abbey of nuns within the city, and the monastery
which is called Hyde without the walls. Here was an
image of our Lord crucified, wrought with a profusion of
gold and silver and precious stones, through the pious solici-
tude of Canute, who was formerly king and presented it
This being seized by the flames and thrown to the ground,
was afterwards stripped of its ornaments at the command of
the legate himself: more than five hundred marks of silver
and thirty of gold, which were found on it, served for a lar-
gess to the soldiers. The abbey of nuns at Warewell was
also burned by one William de Ipres, an abandoned character
who feared neither God nor man, because some of the parti-
sans of the empress had secured themselves within it.

Li the meantime, the earl of Gloucester, though suffering,
with his followers, by daily contests with the royalists, and
though circumstances turned out far beneath his expecta-
tion, yet ever abstained from the burning of churches, not-
withstanding he resided in the vicinity of St. Swithun's.
But unable to endure any longer the disgrace of being,
together with his party, almost besieged, and seeing fortune

r

524 MODERN HISTORY. {b. nfc

inclining towards the enemy, he deemed it expedient to yield
to necessity ; and, having marshalled his troops, he prepared
to depart. Sending his sister, therefore, and the rest, in the
vanguard, that she might proceed without interruption, he
himself retreated gently, with a chosen few, who had spirit
enough not to be alarmed at a multitude. The earls imme-
diately pursuing him, as he thought it disgraceful, and be-
neath his dignity to fly, and was the chief object of universal
attack, he was made captive. The rest, especially the chiefs,
proceeded on their destined journey, and, with the utmost
precipitation, reached Devizes. Thus they departed from
Winchester on the day of the exaltation of the holy cross,
which at that time happened on a Sunday, having come
thither a few days before the assumption of the holy mother
oFljraS:^ 'It appeared to some rather miraculous, and was
matter of general conversation in England, that the king on
the Sunday of the purification of our lady, and the earl on
the Sunday of the exaltation of the life-imparting cross,
should each experience a similar fate. This, however, was
truly worthy of remark and admiration, that, no one, on this
mischance, ever beheld the earl of Gloucester either dis-
pirited or dejected in countenance. He breathed too high
a consciousness of dignity, to subject himself to the caprice
of fortune ; and, although he was at first invited by soothing
measures, and afterwards assailed by threats, he never con-
sented to treat of his liberation, except with the privity of
his sister. At last the affair was thus decided : that the
king and himself should be liberated on equal terms ; no
condition being proposed, except that each might defend
his party, to the utmost of his abilities, as before. These
matters, after repeated and long discussion, from the ex-
altation of the holy cross, to the festival of All Saints,
then came to a suitable conclusion. For on that day, the
king, released from his captivity, left his queen, and son,
and two of the nobility at Bristol, as sureties for the libera-
tion of the earl ; and came with the utmost speed to Win-
chester, where the earl, now brought from Rochester, whither
he had first been taken, was at this time confined. The
third day after, when the king came to Winchester, the earl
departed, leaving there on that day his son WilUam, as a
pledge, tUl the queen should be released. Performing with

A.D. 1141.] COUNCIL AT WESTMINSTER. 525

quick despatai the journey to Bristol, he liberated the queen,
on whose return, William, the earl's son, was set free from
his detention. It is, moreover, sufficiently notorious, that,
although, during the whole of his captivity and of the fol-
lowing months till Christmas, he was enticed by numberless
and magnificent promises to revolt from his sister; yet he
always deemed hiis fraternal affection of greater importance
than any promise which could be made him. For leaving
his property and his castles, which he might have quietly
enjoyed, he continued unceasingly near the empress at Ox-
ford, where, as I have said before, fixing her residence, she
held her court.

In the meantime, the legate, a prelate of unbounded spirit,
who was never inclined to leave incomplete what he had
once purposed, summoned by his legatine authority a council
at Westminster, on the octaves of St. Andrew. I cannot
relate the transactions of this council with that exact vera-
city with which I did the former, as I was not present. We
have heard that a letter was then read from the sovereign
pope, in which he gently rebuked the legate for not endea-
vouring to release his brother ; but that he forgave him his
former transgression, and earnestly exhorted him to attempt
his liberation by any mode, whether ecclesiastical or secular :
that the king himself entered the council, and complained
to the reverend assembly, that his own subjects had both
made captive, and nearly killed him by the injuries they
inflicted on him, who had never refused them justice. That
the legate himself, too, by great powers of eloquence, endea-
voured to extenuate the odium of his own conduct : that,
in truth, he had received the empress, not from inclination,
but necessity; for, that, while his brother's overthrow was
yet recent, all the earls being either dispersed or waiting the
issue of events in suspense, she had surrounded Winchester
with her party : that she had obstinately persevered in
breaking every promise she had made pertaining to the right
of the churches : and that he had it from unquestionable
authority, that she, and her partisans, had not only had
designs on his dignity, but even on his life : that, however,
God, in his mercy, had caused matters to fall out contrary
to her hopes, so that he should himself escape destruction,
and rescue his brother from captivity: that he commanded

526 MODERN HISTORY. Lb. iu.

therefore, on the part of God and of the pope, that they
should strenuously assist the king, anointed by the will of
the people and with the approbation of the holy see: but
that such as disturbed the peace, in favour of the countess
of Anjou, should be excommunicated, with the exception of
herself, who was sovereign of the Angevins.

I do not say, that this speech was kindly received by all
the clergy, though certainly no one opposed it ; for all bridled
their tongues either through fear, or through reverence.
There was one layman sent from the empress, who openly
forbade the legate, by the faith which he had pledged to her,
to ordain any thing, in that council^ repugnant to her hon-
our; and said, that he had made. oath to the empress, not to
assist his brother, unless, perchance, by sending him twenty
horsemen at the utmost: that her coming to England had
been effected by his frequent letters : that her taking the
king, and holding him in captivity, had been done princi-
pally by his connivance. The advocate affirmed these and
many other circumstances, with great harshness of language,
and by no means sparing the legate. However, he could not
be prevailed upon, by any force of argument, to lay aside his
animosity : for, as I have said before, he was an active per-
severer in what he had once taken in hand. This year,
therefore, the tragedy of which I have briefly related, was
fatal, and nearly destructive, to England; during which,
though conceiving that she might now, perhaps, experience
some little respite, yet, she became again involved in ca-
lamity, and, unless God's mercy shall shortly come to her
relief, must there long continue.

It seems fitting that I should commence the transactions
of this year, which is a.d. 1142, with certain events which
were unnoticed in the former ; and, at the same time, briefly
recapitulate what has been said, in various places, of Robert,
earl of Gloucester, son of king Henry, and submit it, thus
arranged, to the consideration of the reader. For, as he
was the first to espouse the just defence of his sister, so did
he persevere with unshaken constancy in her cause without
remuneration ; I say without remuneration, because some of
her supporters, either following the course of fortune, are
changed with its revolutions, or having already obtained
considerable benefits, fight for justice under expectation of

A.r 1142.] ROBERT, EARL OP GLOUCESTER. 527

Still further recompence : Robert, alone, or nearly alone, un •
influenced by such considerations, was never swayed, as will
appear hereafter, either by hope of advantage, or fear of loss.
Let no one, therefore, suspect me of adulation, if I relate
these matters circumstantially : for I shall make no sacri-
fice to favour ; but pure historical truth, without, any stain
of falsehood, shall be handed down to the knowledge of
posterity.

it has been related of the earl, how, first* of all the
nobility, after David, king of Scotland, he confirmed, by
oath, his fealty to his sister, the empress, for the kingdom
of England, and the duchy of Normandy, in the presence
otf his father Henry. There was some contention, as I have
said, between him and Stephen earl of Boulogne, afterwards
king of England, who should swear first; Robert alleging
the preference of a son, Stephen the dignity of a nephew.

It has been recorded too, what reasonable causes, from
December, when his father died, till after the ensuing Easter,
detained him in Normandy, from coming immediately into
England to avenge his sister's injuries. And when at last he
did come, with what just deliberation, and with what proviso,
he consented to do homage to the king; and how justly,
in the following year, and thenceforward, he abjured it.

Nor has his second arrival in England from Normandy,
after his father's death, with his sister, been omitted : where,
relying on the favour of God, and his innate courage, he
ventured himself, as into a desert full of wild beasts, though
scarcely accompanied by one hundred and forty horsemen.
Neither has it been unnoticed, that, amid such tumult of war,
while anxious watch was kept on all sides, he boldly came to
Bristol with only twelve horsemen, having committed his
sister to safe custody, as he supposed, at Arundel : nor with
what prudence, at that time, he received her from the very
midst of her enemies, and afterwards advanced her in all
things to the utmost of his power ; ever busied on her ac-
count, and neglecting his own interest to secure hers, while
some persons taking advantage of his absence, curtailed his
territories on every side : and, lastly, urged by what neces-
sity, namely to rescue his son-in-law, whom the king had

* This seems an oversight : as he had before related, more than once
that Stephen preceded Robert in taking the oath to Matilda.

528 MODERN HISTORY. is. iri.

besieged, he engaged in a hazardous conflict, and took the
king prisoner. This fortunate event, however, was some-
what obscured by his own capture at Winchester, as I have
recorded in the transactions of the fprmer year ; though by
the grace of God, he showed himself, not so much an object
of commiseration, as of praise, in that capture. For, when
he saw that the royalist earls were so persevering in the pur-
suit that the business could not be gotten through without
loss on his part, he sent forward all those for whom he was
under apprehension, and more especially the empress. When
they had proceeded far enough to escape in safety, he fol-
lowed leisurely, that the retreat might not resemble a flight,
and received the attack of the pursuers himself ; thus pur-
chasing, by his own detention, the liberty of his friends.
And now, even at the moment of his capture, no one, as I
have said above, perceived him either dispirited, or humbled
in language : he seemed so far to tower above fortune, that
he compelled his persecutors, for I am loth to call them ene-
mies, to respect him. Wherefore the queen, though she
might have remembered, that her husband had been fettered
by his command, yet never suffered a bond of any kind to be
put upon him, nor presumed on her dignity to treat him dis-
honourably. And finally at Rochester, for thither he was
conducted, he went freely whither he pleased, to the churches
below the castle, and conversed with whom he chose, the
queen only being present (for after her departure he was
held in free custody in the keep) and so calm and serene was
his mind, that, getting money from his vassals in Kent, he
bought some valuable horses, which were both serviceable
and beneficial to him afterwards.

The earls, and those whose business it was to speak of such
matters, at first, tried if he would allow of the king and him-
self being liberated on equal terms. Though his countess,
Mabil, out of solicitude for her beloved husband, would
have embraced these terms the moment she heard them, being,
through conjugal affection, bent on his liberation, yet he, in
his wiser policy, refused : asserting that a king and an earl
were not of equal importance ; however, if they would
allow all who had been taken with him, or for him, to be
set at liberty, to this he might consent. But the earls and
Other royalists would not assent to these terms ; they were

A.D. 1142.J EARL ROBERT IN PRISON. 529

anxious indeed for the king's liberty, but not at their own
pecuniary loss : for earl Gilbert had taken William of Salis-
bury : and William de Ipres, Humphry de Bohun ; and
others had made such captures as they could, at Winchester,
greedily expecting large sums for their ransom.

Next attacking the earl another way, they were anxious to
allure him with magnificent promises, if so they might effect
their purpose. Would he go over to the king's side, and
dismiss his sister, he should govern the whole country : all
things should await his decision : the crown should be the
only distinction between him and the king : over all others
he should rule as he pleased. The earl rejected these un-
bounded promises, with a memorable reply, which I wish
posterity to hear, and to admire : "I am not my own master,"
said he, " but am in another's power ; when I shall see my-
self at my own disposal, I promise to do every thing which
reason dictates on the matter you propound."

Irritated and incensed at this, when they could do nothing
by fair means, they began to menace, that they would send
him over sea to Boulogne, and keep him in perpetual bon-
dage till death. Still, however, with a serene countenance,
dispelling their threats, he firmly and truly protested, that he
feared nothing less. For he relied on the spirit of his wife,
the countess, and the courage of his partizans, who would
immediately send the king into Ireland, if they heard of any
foul deed perpetrated against himself.

A month elapsed in these transactions ; so difficult a work
was it to effect the liberation of princes whom fortune had
fettered with her chain.* But, at length, the supporters of
the empress having conferred together, entreated the earl by
divers messages, that " as he could not do what he would,"
according to the comic writer, " he would do what he could :"
he should allow therefore, the king and himself^ to be set at
liberty, on equal terms, " otherwise," said they, "we fear lest
the earls, inspirited by the consciousness of their great and
most distinguished exploit in making you captive, should at-
tack us one by one, reduce our castles, and even make an
attempt upon your sister."

Robert, wrought upon at length, assented to the proposal
of the legate and archbishop, but still on condition that none
* Virgil, ^n. i. 33.
Bi ar

530 MODERN HISTORY. lD- in.

of the castles, or territory, should be restored, which had
come under the power of the empress or of any of her faith-
ful adherents, since the capture of the king : but he could
not by any means obtain the release of his friends, as he had
given offence to some persons, in rejecting, with a kind of
superciliousness their magnificent promises with respect to
the government of the whole kingdom. And as they were
extremely anxious that, for the royal dignity, the king should
be first set at liberty, and then the earl ; when he demurred
to this, the legate and the archbishop made oath, that if the
king, after his own liberation, refused to release the earl,
they would forthwith deliver themselves up into Robert's
power, to be conducted wherever he pleased. Nor did he
rest here ; for his sagacious mind discovered an additional
security. It might fall out, that the king, as often happens,
listening to evil counsel, would consider the detention of his
brother, and of the archbishop, as of very little consequence,
so that he himself were at his ease. He demanded, there-
fore, from them both, separately, instruments, with their
seals, addressed to the pope, to the following effect ; " That
the sovereign pope was to understand, that they, for the
liberation of the king and the peace of the kingdom, had
bound themselves to the earl by this covenant, that, if the
king refused to liberate him after his own release, themselves
would wdllingly surrender to his custody. Should it, there-
fore, come to this calamitous issue, they earnestly entreated,
what it would well become the papal goodness voluntarily to
perform, that he would release them, who were his suffra-
gans, as well as the earl, from unjustifiable durance." There
was something more to the same effect.

These writings, received from either prelate, Robert depo-
sited in a place of safety, and came to Winchester with them
and a great company of the barons. The king also, as has
been before observed, coming thither soon after, had a friendly
interview with the earl. But although he, and all the earls
present, eagerly busied themselves in bringing over Robert
to their wishes, yet, " firm as a rock amid the ocean" in his
resistance, he rendered their attempts abortive, or refuted
them by argum3nt. He affirmed, that, it was neither reason-
able nor natural, that he should desert his sister, whose cause
he had justly espoused, not for any benefit to himself, nor so

A.D. 1142.1 DESIGNS OF THE EMPRESS. 531

much out of dislike to the king, as regard to his oath, which,
they also ought to remember, it was impiety to violate, espe-
cially when he called to mind, that he had been enjoined by
the pope to respect the oath he had taken to his sister in the
presence of his father. Thus failing of peace, they severally
departed.

The reason why I have not incorporated these events with
the transactions of the former year is that I did not then
know them ; for I have always dreaded to transmit anything
to posterity, through my narrative, the truth of which I
could not perfectly vouch for. What, then, I have to relate
of the present year will commence as follows.

The respective parties of the empress and of the king,
conducted themselves with quiet forbearance from Christmas
to Lent, anxious rather to preserve their own, than to ravage
the possessions of others. The king went to a distant
part of the kingdom for the purpose of quelling some disturb-
ances. Lent coming on gave all a respite from war ; in
the midst of which the empress came with her party to De-
vizes, where her secret designs were debated. So much of
them, however, transpired that it was known that all her
partizans had agreed to send for the earl of Anjou, who was
most interested in the defence of the inheritance of his wife
and children in England. Men of respectability were, there-
fore, despatched and such as might fitly execute a business of
such magnitude. Not long after, nearly on the Easter holi-
days, the king, while meditating, as it is said, some harsh
measures, was detained by an acute disease at Northampton ;
so severe, indeed, that he was reported, almost throughout
England, as being at the point of death. His sickness con-
tinued till after Pentecost, when returning health gradually
restored him. Li the meantime, the messengers returning
from Anjou, related the result of their mission to the
empress and the princes in a second council, held at Devizes
on the octaves of Pentecost. They said that the earl of
Anjou in some measure favoured the mission of the nobility,
but that among them all he was only well acquainted with
the earl of Gloucester, of whose prudence and fidelity, great-
ness of mind and industry, he had long since had proof.
Were he to make a voyage to him he would, as far as he
was able, accede to his wishes: but that all other persons

532 MODERN HISTORY. [b. m.

would expend their labour in passing and repassing to no
purpose.

The hopes of all the assembly being thus excited, they
entreated that the earl would condescend to undertake this
task on account of the inheritance of his sister and of his
nephews. At first he excused himself, alleging the diffi-
culty of the business, the" perilous journey, beset with
enemies on either side of the sea; that it would be at-
tended with danger to his sister, as in his absence those
persons would be hardly able to defend her, who, distrusting
even the strength of their own party, had nearly deserted
her during his captivity. Yielding at length to the general
desire, he demanded hostages, especially from those who
were considered as the chief persons, to be taken with him
into Normandy, and to be pledges, as well to the earl of An-
jou as to the empress; and that all, continuing at Oxford,
should unite in defending her from injury to the utmost
while he was absent. His propositions were eagerly ap-
proved, and hostages given him to be conducted into
Normandy.

Robert, therefore, bidding adieu to his sister, and taking
with him his hostages and some light troops, proceeded by
safe marches to Wareham, which town and castle he had
long since entrusted to his eldest son William. There, soon
after the festival of St. John, committing himself, by the
grace of God, to the ocean, with such vessels as he then pos-
sessed, he weighed anchor. When they were about mid-sea,
a tempest arising, all except two were dispersed ; some were
driven back, and some carried beyond their destination.
Two only, in one of which was the earl with his most faith-
ful adherents, keeping their course, arrived in the wished-for
port. Proceeding thus to Caen, he sent messengers for the
earl of Anjou. The earl came without reluctance, but
stated his difficulties, and those not a few, to the object of
the embassy when proposed to him ; among others that he
should be detained from coming into England by the rebel-
lion of many castles in Normandy. This circumstance de-
layed the earl of Gloucester's return longer than he had
intended: for, that he might deprive the earl of Anjou of
every evasion, he assisted him in subduing ten castles in
Normandy. The names of which were Tenerchebrei, Seith-

AJ}. 1142.] IlETUKN OF THE EARL OP GLOUCESTER. 533

ilaret, Brichesart, Alani, Bastenborg, Triveres, Castel de
Vira, Placeit, Vilers, Moreton. Yet even by this activity,
he furthered the end of his mission but little. The earl of
Anjou stated fresh causes, as the former were done avray, to
excuse his coming into England. Indeed, as a very singular
favour, he permitted his eldest son, by the empress, to accom-
pany his uncle to England, by whose presence the chiefs
might be encouraged to defend the cause of the lawful heir.
The youth is named Henry, after his grandfather ; may he
hereafter resemble him in happiness and in power.

In England, in the meantime, the king seizing the oppor-
tunity of the earl's absence came unexpectedly to Wareham,
and finding it slightly garrisoned, he burned and plundered
the town, and immediately got possession of the castle also.
Not content with this, as he saw fortune inclined to favour
him, three days before the festival of St. Michael, by an un-
expected chance,* he burned the city of Oxford, and laid
siege to the castle, in which was the empress with her do-
mestic guards. This he did with such determined resolution,
that he declared no hope of advantage or fear of loss should
induce him to depart till the castle was delivered up, and the
empress surrendered to his power. Shortly after, all the
nobility of the empress's party, ashamed of being absent
from their sovereign in violation of their compact, assembled in
large bodies at Wallingford, with the determination of attack-
ing the king if he would risk a battle in the open plain ; but
they had no intention of assailing him within the city, as
Robert earl of Gloucester had so fortified it with, ditches that
it appeared impregnable unless by fire.

These rumours becoming prevalent in Normandy, Robert
hastened his return. He embarked, therefore, somewhat
more than three, but less than four hundred horsemen, on
board fifty-two vessels ; to these were added two which he
took at sea on his return. God's grace so singularly favoured
his pious resolution that not one ship, out of so great a num-
ber, was separated, but all nearly close together, or gently
proceeding one before the other, ploughed the calm bosom of
the deep. Nor did the waves violently dash against the

• The garrison liaring sallied out against him, he suddenly passed a ford
which was not generally known and, repelling the enemy, entered the town
with them, Gesta Regis Stephani, 958.

.V-

534 MODERN HISTORY. [a. ra.

i fleet, but rather seemed subserviently to further their pass-
lage, like that most beautiful appearance at sea when the
pvave gradually approaching gently breaks upon the shore.
Thus making the port of Wareham, these favoured vessels
restored the earl and all his companions to the wishes of
their friends.

He had at first thought of landing at Southampton, at
once to wreak his vengeance both on its inhabitants and on
their lord: but this resolution was changed through the
repeated entreaties of the Vituli, who were fearful that their
dearest connexions, who resided at Southampton, would be
involved in the general calamity. These are a kind of
mariners, who are known by the name of Vituli; and as
they are his faithful adherents he thought fit to listen to their
petitions, and desist from his design. Again, it appeared
more dignified to return to the place whence he had departed,
and to recover by force what he had lost by a similar mode.
Reducing, therefore, immediately the port and town, he laid
siege to the castle, which by its strength stimulated the spi-
rit, not to call it obstinacy, of those of the king's choicest
troops who defended it. Yet, nevertheless, soon after, the
garrison, shaken in their resolution by the engines of the
earl, and greatly alarmed, begged a truce, that, as is the
custom of the military, they might demand assistance from
the king, consenting to deliver up the castle if he refused to
come by a certain day. This, though he was possessed with
the utmost impatience to become master of the fortress, was
very agreeable to the earl, as it led him to suppose it might
draw off Stephen from besieging his sister. We may imagine
what firmness of mind this man possessed who, with little
more than three hundred horsemen, and as yet joined by no
succours in England, could undauntedly await the king, who
was reported to have more than a thousand ; for many per-
sons had joined the siege, not so much through dislike to the
empress as through the hope of plunder.

However, when it was certified that the king, from that
resolution which I have before mentioned, refused assistance
to the besieged at Wareham, the earl obtained the castle, and
with the same attack subdued the island of Portland, whicli
they had fortified, as well as a third castle, called LuUewar-
den, which belonged to a certain chamberlain, called William

A.D. 1142.J ESCAPE OP THE EMPRESS. 535

of Glastonbury, who had lately revolted from the empress.
Robert then, at the beginning of Advent, summoned the
whole of Matilda's partisans to Cirencester : where all resolv-
ing to aiFord their sovereign every possible assistance, they
meditated a march to Oxford ; courageously determining to
give the king battle, unless he retreated. But as they were
on their route, the pleasing account reached them, that the
empress had escaped from the blockaded castle at Oxford,
and was now at . Wallingford in security. Turning aside
thither, then, at the suggestion of their sovereign, since the
soldiers who had remained at her departure, after delivering
up the castle, had gone away without molestation, and the
holidays admonished them to repose awhile, they resolved to
abstain from battle, and retired to their homes.

I would very willingly subjoin the manner of the em-
press's liberation, did I know it to a certainty ; for it is un-
doubtedly one of God's manifest miracles. This, however, is
sufficiently notorious, that, through fear of the earl's approach,
many of the besiegers at Oxford stole away wherever they
were able, and the rest remitted their vigilance, and kept
not so good a look out as before ; more anxious for their own
safety, in case it came to a battle, than bent on the destruc-
tion of others.* This circumstance being remarked by the
townsmen, the empress, with only four soldiers, made her
escape through a small postern, and passed the river. After-
wards, as necessity sometimes, and indeed, almost always,
discovers means and ministers courage, she went to Abing-
don on foot, and thence reached Wallingford on horse-back.
But this I purpose describing more fuUy, if, by God's per-
mission, I shall ever learn the truth of it from those who
were present.

• One of the MSS. omits from, " This circumstance," to the end, and
substitutes, .... " but these matters, with God's permission, shall he
more largely treated in the following volume."

INDEX.

Adultery, punished in Old Saxony, 74.

^lla founds the kingdom of Sussex, 92.
Aimar, bishop of Puy, 363, 365.
Alcuin, 62 ; his epistles, 66, 79, 84.
Aldhelm, abbat of Malmesbury, 29; made

bishop of Sherborne, 35.
Aldred, abp. of York, crowns William 1, 281.
Aldrey, William de, account of, 340.
Alexander, bp. of Lincoln, imprisoned, 500.
Alexius I, emperor of Constantinople, 365.
Alfwold, king of Northumbria, 68.
Alfred, king of England, anointed by pope
Leo, 99 ; ascends the throne, 113 ; retires
to Athelney, ib. ; assumes the garb of a
minstrel, 114; routs the Danes, 116; his
personal bravery, 117 ; his childi-en, ib. ;
founds various monasteries, 118 ; his love
of literature, ib. ; dies, 121.
Alfred, the son of Ethelred, 207.
Alftid, king of Northumbria, 52.
Alia, king of Northumbria, 41.
Almodis, countess of Toulouse, 416.
Ambrosius, monarch of Britain, 11.
Analaf, 129, 136 ; created king by the North-
umbrians, 141.
Angles and Saxons invited from Germany,

7; arrive in Britain, 8.
Angle-School at Rome, 99.
Anjou, earls of, account of, 265.
Anjou, Geoffrey earl of, account of, 261.
Anlaf, king of Norway, baptized, 168.
Anselm, abp. of Canterbury, quits the king-
dom, 338 ; recalled, 428 ; his contest with
king Henry, 448.
Anschetil, a Norman nobleman, 144.
Antioch, description and siege of, 378 — 382.
Aoxianus, governor of Antioch, 379, 381.
Arbrisil, Robert de, account of, 471.
Architecture, new style of at Westminster,

55 ; at Salisbury and Malmesbury, 442.
Annorica or Bretague, British settlement

of, 6.
Arthur assists Ambrosius, 11 ; his sepul-
chre never found, 315.
Asia Minor, its ancient fruitfulness, 377.
Ass, a man transformed into one, 180.
Asser, bishop of Sherborne, account of, 118.
Assingdon, consecration of church at, 198.
Athelard,abp of Canterbury, 82.
Athelstan, king of Mercia, 128—140.
Athelwold, the confidant of Edgar, 159.
Augustine, St., converts the king of Kent

to Christianity, 12, 26. See Joscelyn.
ikzotus, siege of, 405.

Babylon in Egypt, formerly Taphnis, 390.

Badon, Mount, siege of, 11.

Bayeux, city of, burned, 433.

Baldred, king of Kent, 17 ; expelled, 96.

Baldwin I, king of Jerusalem, 395 — 412.

Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem, 412.

Baldwin, earl of Flanders, 206.

Balista, what, 380.

Ballads, ancient historical, 138, 148, 315.

Balso the Short, storj' of, 145.

Bangor, monastery of, 44.

Battles at Aylesford, 194 ; Antioch, 3S2
Ascalon, 391 ; Assingdon, 194 ; Bensing-
ton, 38 ; Bruneford or Brumby, 129 ;
Degstan, 43 ; Dol, 291 ; Eschendun, 111 ;
Gerborai, 291 ; Hastings, 257, 276, 280 ;
Hellendun, 96 ; Penn, near Gillingham,
193; Sceorstan, ib. ; Standford-bridge,
256 ; Tenersebray, 433 ; Walesdun, 260 ;
Witgeomesbrug, 20 ; Wodensdike, 19.

Battle abbey, founded by William I, 300.

Bede, Venerable, 3, 54, 56, 59.

Belesme, Robert de, 430, 433.

Benedict Biscop, founder of Wearmouth, 54

Benignus, St. 25 ; his epitaph, ib.

Berefreid, what, 388.

Berengar of Tours, account of 311.

Bernard, abbat of Tyron, account of, 471.

Bernard, the monk, 335.

Bemicia, kingdom of, 46.

Bemulph, king of Mercia, 87, 96.

Berthwulf, king of Mercia, expelled, 88.

Bertric, king of Wessex, 40 ; expels Eg-
bert, 95 ; poisoned, 106.

Bethlehem, church of St. Mary, at 383.

Bezants, money so called, 372, 406.

Bishoprics, extinct or consolidated, 78. Ex-
tent of, 92 ; removal of, 78, 352 ; prece-
dence of, 22.

Bishops, seven, story of, 127, 128.

Blois, Theobald earl of, 438.

Blois, Henry de, bishop of Winton, and le-
gate, 501 ; his treaty with the empress
Maud, 517 ; holds a council at Winton,
518 ; his quarrel with the empress, 523.

Blois, Stephen earl of, joins the crusade,
366, 408 ; killed at Ramula, 410.

Blood, its physical effects, 361; shower of, 67.

Boamund, his design in urging the crusade,
356, 365 ; account of, 413.

Boniface, archbishop of Mentz, 73.

Boy, Jewish, legendary story of, 314.

Bracelets exposed by Alfred on liigbways,
118.

5m

INDEX.

Briget, St 25.

Britons, avarice and rapine of, 67.
Britons, western, or Cornwalli^h, 134.
Brithwin, bishop of Wilton, 247.
Burgundy, Stephen eari of, 408. Killed at

Ramula, 410.
Burhred, king of Mercia, 88.

Cadwalla, king of the Britons, 46.

Caedwalla, king of Wessex, 16. Baptized,
and called Peter, 31.

Caerleon, or Chester, 43.

Cfesarea, siege of, 405.

Caesar, Julius, subdues Britain, 5.

Calixtus II, pope, his letter on reducing
Sutri, 466 ; accommodation with the em-
peror Henry V, 467.

Calne, remarkable accident at, 163.

Canons, secular, expelled Winchester, 149,
Attempt to recover their monasteries,
162.

Canterbury, see of, attempt to remove it to
Lichfield, 78 ; controversy with see of
York, 319.

Canterbury, city of, burnt, 16. Dreadful
outrage at, 218.

Canute, elected king by the Danes, 190 ;
lands at Sandwich, 192 ; divides the king-
dom with Edmund Ironside, 195 ; assumes
the sovereignty of England, 196 ; con-
quers the Swedes and Norwegians, 198 ;
his epistle from Rome, 199 ; his death,
•205.

Caradoc of Lancarvon, his Life of Gildas,
22, note.

Ceawlin, king of Wessex, his character, 18.

Ceolwulf, king of Northumbria, 53 ; be-
comes a monk, 61.

Centuries, or hundreds, instituted, 117.

Cenric, king of Wessex, his character, 18.

Ceolfrid, abbat of Wearmouth, 51, 55.

Ceols, vessels so called, described, 8, 18.

Cerdic, founds the kingdom of Wessex, 17.

Charles the Great (Charlemagne), 65, 85.

Charles the Bald, king of France, 125.

Charles the Simple, king of France, 124.

Charles the Fat, king of France, 102.

Charters, Ethelbald's, 76. Ethelwulfs,
107. Edmund's, to Glastonbury, 141.
Edgar's, to Glastonbury, 151. To Malmes-
bury, 155 ; Canute's, to Glastonbury, 203.
Stephen's, 493.

Chartres, siege of, 125. Church of, 204.

Chasuble, meaning of, 473, note.

Chester, reduced by Edward the elder,
131.

Chorges, bishop of. account of, 414, 417.

Christianity, introduced into Mercia, 71.

Chronicle, Saxon, 3, 30, 39, 98.

Churchyards, privileges of, 492, note.

Circscet, what, 202.

Cissa, king of Sussex, 92, note.

Cistertian order, origin of, 347 ; observ-
ances of, 349.

Clergy, vanity of their dress condemned, 76.

Clerks, two, at Nantes, story of, 268.

Clermont, council of, its enactments, 356.

Clock, mechanical, 175.

Cologne, abp. of, his exemplary conduct, 163.

Comet, appearance of, 251, 343.

Complines, what, 350, note.

Constantine the Great, exhausts Britain, 6.

Constantine, elected emperor, and slain, 6.

Constantine, king of Scots, expelled his
kingdom, 129 ; killed, 130.

Constantinople, described, 372. Its em-
perors, 374.

Corbaguath, or Corbanach, commander of
the Persian forces, 381. His death, 421.

Councils, ecclesiastical, civil, &c. 76, 127,
163, 191, 311, 356, 4C2, 499, 501, 517, 525.

Court, licentiousness of Rufus's, 337.

Courtiers, their insolence to the clergy, 339.

Crida, king of Mercia, 70, note.

Cross, part of our Saviour's, 118, 136, 390,
411.

Crucifix, said to have spoken, 163. Cele-
brated one at Lucca, 332. At Winches-
ter, 523.

Crusaders, march of, 364. Their extreme
distress, 377. Their admirable conduct,
387—391.

Cuichelm, king of Wessex, 19, 20.

Cumberland, assigned to Malcolm, 141.

Curfew, supposed abolition of, 428, note.

Cuthbert, St. 52. Appears to Alfred, 113.
His incorruption, 236.

Cuthburga, abbess of Wimbome, 35.

Cuthred, king of West Saxons, 37.

Cynegils, king of Wessex, account of, 20.

Cynewolf, king of West Saxons, 38.

Dancers and profane singers punished, 182.
Danes, invade England, 40, 96. Ravages

of, 69, 112, 167. Butchered by Ethelred,

169. Exact tribute, 185.
Danube, the river, described, 374.
Daibert, abp. of Pisa, joins the Crusade, 397.

Made patriarch of Jerusalem, 393.
Dalmatic, garment so called, what, 85.
Danfrunt, siege of, 263. Castle of, 436.
David, St., 26.

David, tower of, at Jerusalem described, 387.
David, king of Scotland, his character, 434.
Decennaries, or tithings instituted, 117.
Deira, province of, 42.
Den, a monastery so called, 466.
Denmark, succession of its kings, 292.
Devices, on armour or shields, 262, 469.
Devil, visible appearance of, 343.
Dionysius the Areopagite, 119
Domesday-book, account of, 291.
Drinking by pegs, account of, 148.
Dunstan, abp. of Canterburj-, 141, 167, 245.
Durham, privileges of the see of, 303.

Eadbert, king of Northumbria, 61 — 67.
Eadburga, daughter of Edward the Eider,

125, 244.
Eadburga, queen of Wessex, 106.

INDEX.

539

Eadbald, king of Kent, ]3.

Eadbert Pren, king of Kent, 17, 87-

Eadgaring, meaning of, 64.

Eadmer, the historian, 3, note.

Ealstan, bishop of Sherborne, 106, 108.

Elarls, their official honours, 496, note.

Earthquake, terrible, 342.

East Anglia, kingdom of, 88. Extent of, 92.

Plundered by the Danes, 112. Account

of, 240.
Ecclesiastics, their property seized at death,

494.
Eclipse, terrific, 488, 511.
Edan, king of Scots, 43.
Edessa, in Mesopotamia, described, 396.
Edgar, king of England, 147—162.
Edgar Etheling, son of Edward the Exile,

253. His character, 284.
Edgitha, wife of the Confessor, 216.
Edifices, stone, first builders of in England,

54.
Editha, daughter of Edgar, 161, 245.
Edmund, St. king of East Anglia, 89. Slain,

112. His incorruption, 236. His boun-
dary, 242. Church built in honour of

him, 198.
Edmund, king, 141. His death, 143.
Edmund Ironside, 191—195.
Edred, king of England, 145.
Edric, duke of Mercia, 169, 191, 197.
Edward the Elder, 122. His issue, 124.

Education of his children, 125.
Edward the Martyr, 162—165.
Edward the Confessor, 213. Crowned at

Winchester, 216. His character, 247. His

predictions, 251. Dies, 253.
Edward the Exile comes to England, 253.
Edwin, king of Northumbria, 4.5.
Edwin, brother of Athelstan, 139.
Edwin, brother of Edmund Ironside, 196.
Edwin and Morcar, earls of Northumbria,

285.
Edwy, king of England, 145— 147.
Egbert, king of Kent, 15.
Egbert, archbishop of York, 61.
Egbert, king of Wessex, 94—97.
Egfert, king of Mercia, 86.
Egfrid, king of Northumbria, 51.
Eginhard, his life of Charlemagne, 64, note.
Eisc, son of Hengist, king of Kent, 12.
Elbert, and Egelbright, 15, 237, 243.
Eleutherius, bishop of Rome, 21.
Elfred, the rival of king Athelstan, 128 ;

His singular death, 137.
Elferius, destroys monasteries, 164, 165.
Elfgiva, concubine of king Edwy, 146.
Elfthrida, wife of king Edgar, 159, 161 ;

Causes the murder of king Edward, 164.
Elmer, a monk, flies like Daedalus, 252.
Elphege, archbishop of Canterbury, 168 ;

his body translated to Canterbury, 202 ;

its incorruption, 236.
El ward, or Ethelwerd, abridger of the Saxom

Chronicle, 3, note.
Ely, church of, made a cathedral, 476.

Emma queen of Ethelred, 187; her libe-
rality to Winchester, 215 ; story of the
ploughshares, ib. note.

England, divisions of, geographical and
ecclesiastical, 91 — 93 ; oppressed state of
after the conquest, 235, 253 ; its lamen-
table condition in the time of Stephen,
496, 509.

Erconbert, king of Kent, 14.

Ercongotha, St. 15, 242.

Erie, expelled the kingdom by Canute, 197.

Ermenhilda, St. 242.

Ethelbald, king of Mercia, 73— 77.

Ethelbald, king of Wessex, 110.

Ethelbert, king of Kent, 12 ; his answer
to Augustine, 14 ; converted to Christi-
anity, ib.

Ethelbert, St. king of East-Anglia, killed, 7a

Ethelbert, king of Kent, Essex, &c. 110.

Ethelbert, son of Ermenred, murdered, 15,
237, 243.

Ethelburga, queen of Ina, her art, 36.

Etheldrida, St. her incoiTuption, 242.

Ethelfrid, king of Northumbria, 43.

Ethelnoth, archbishop of Canterbury, 203.

Ethelred, king of Mercia, 72.

Ethelred, son of Ermenred, murdered, 15,
237, 243.

Ethelred, or Ethelbert, king of Northum-
bria, 68.

Ethelred, king of Wessex, 111.

Ethelred II, king of England, 165, 186—193.

Ethelfleda, lady of the Mercians, 123.

Ethered, earl, governor of Mercia, 116.

Eihelric, king of Northumbria, 42.

Ethelwald opposes Edward the Elder, 123.

Ethelwalch, king of Sussex, 30.

Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester, 149.

Ethelwulf, king, 97 ; his grant of tithes,
98 ; marries Judith, 99 ; returns from
Rome, 106; his charter, 107; his de-
scent, 109.

Euripus, or sea-flood, destroys villages, 191.

Eustace, earl of Boulogne, his affray, 218.

Exeter, fortified and walled by Athelstan,
134 ; burnt, 168 ; reduced by Wm. 1, 281.

Famine, ravages England, 170.

Feudal law, practices connected with, 447,

note.
Fire, sacred, miracle of, at Jerusalem, 384,

404.
Fitz-Hubert, Robert, 506, 511.
Fitz-Osbome, William, 288.
Flanders, Robert earl of, 366, 436.
Formosus, pope, his pretended epistle, 127.
Forest, New, account of, 306.
Franks, origin of, 63 ; their character, 95.
France, recapitulation of kings of, 64, 99.
Frea, wife of Woden, 8.
Frideswide, St. church at Oxford burnt,

191.
Fulcher of Chartres, on Syrian transactions,

395.
Fulbert of Chartres, his character, 204, 314

540

INDEX.

Fulda, monastery of, 210 ; disease at, 318.
Fulk, earl of Anjou, account of, 265.
Gelasius II, pope, expelled Rome, 464.
Geoffrey, Martel, account of, 267.
Gerbert, pope Sylvester II, 172—181.
German, St. 24 ; his miracles, 116.
Gildas, the historian, 22, 67.
Girth, or Gurth, son of Godwin, 222, 275.
Glastonbury, antiquities of, by William of
Malmesbuiy, 51 ; account of, 21 ; its pri-
vileges, 142, 150 ; Canute's presents to,
203 ; contention at, 303.
Gosfrith, bishop of CouUnces, 328, 329,
Gloucester, Robert earl of, prefatory epistle
to, 1. Conclusion of Regal History addres-
sed to, 477; his character, 478; Modem
History addressed to, 480 ; conduct with
respect to Stephen, 492 ; with respect to
his sister, 497 ; arrives in England, 505 —
531 ; his death 1, note.
Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, account of. 365.
Godfrey of Boulogne, account of, 392 ; joins
the crusade, 394 ; chosen king of Jerusa-
lem, 390, 394 ; dies, 395.
Godfrey, prior of Winton, account of, 475.
Godwin, earl, defeats the Swedes, 198 ; sup-
ports Emma, 206; murders Alfred the
son of Ethelred, 207 ; his character and
death, 221 ; his family, 223.
Golgotha, church of, 395, note.
Gothrun, a Danish king, baptized, 115.
Gregory I, pope, 42 ; dialogues of, 119, 232;

his pastoral translated by Alfred, 120.
Gregory VI, pope, otherwise Gratian, 223

—230.
Gregory VII, pope, otherwise Hildebrand,

298.
Gregory VIII, pope, otherwise Maurice

Bourdin, 464.
Griffin, king of the Welsh, 214, 256.
Grimbald, abbat of Winton, 118, 120.
Guimund, bp. of Avers, his eloquence, 312.
Guiscard, or Wiscard, Robert, 294, 413.
Gunhilda, married to Hen, III, 207; ac-
cused of adultery, 238.
Gunhildis, sister of Swaj-ne, murdered, 185.
Handboc, Alfred's, 120, and note.
Hardecanute, 205 ; dies at Lambeth, 206.
Harold, sends presents to Athelstan, 134.
Harold, son of Canute, 205 ; dies, 206.
Harold, son of Godwin, 214 ; banished, 220,
254; seizes the crown of England, 55,
275 ; his death, 277—280.
Harold Harfager, king of Norway, 256, 257.
Harding, founder of Cistertians, 347.
Hastings the Dane, his ravages, 115
Hastings, battle of, 276—280
Head, magical, formed by Gerbert, 181.
Hegesippus, a Greek author, 378.
Helena, mother of Constantino the Great, 5.
Helias de la Fleche, 341.
Hengist, king of Kent, his origin, 8 ; arrives
in Britain, 9 ; his son and brother arrive
ftt Orkney. 10 ; settle in Northumbria, ib.

his massacre of the British nobles, 11 •
death, ib.

Henry I, king of England, 425 ; elected king,
427 ; marries Matilda of Scotland, 428 ;
gets possession of Normandy, 431 ; bis
wholesome laws, 434; his transactions
with the Scots, ib. ; subdues the Welsh,
435 ; quarrel with earl of Flanders, 436 ;
interview with pope Calixtus, 440 ; pas-
sion for exotic animals, 443 ; recapitula-
tion of his character, 445 ; his person and
habits, 446 ; espouses Adala of Lou-
vain, 454 ; transactions till his death.
483-490.

Henry III, emperor of Germany, 208—212,

Henry IV, emperor, excommunicated, 358.

Henry V, his contest with the pope, 457.

Hereford, Roger earl of, rebels, 288.

Herbert, bishop of Norwich, account of.
353.

Hildebrand, pope Gregory VII, 295; his
conduct to the emperor Henry V, 298.

Hildebert of Mans, verses on Berengar, 312,
367.

Hingwar, the Dane, ravages Northumbria,

Horsa, brother of Hengist, his death, 10.
Horae, what, 350, note.
Hospital, erected at Jerusalem, 385.
Hubba the Dane, brother of Hingwar, 240.
Hugh the Great, brother of Philip, joins the

Crusade, 365. His death, 408.
Hugo, abbat of Clugny, his account of

Hildebrand, 296. Announces the death

of Rufus, 344.
Hugo, abp. of Rouen, his letter, 489.
Hunting, right of, restricted by Will. II, 339.
Hyde monastery, Winton, 122; burnt, 523.
Hyreanus, digs gold from David's sepulchre,

177.

Ida, king of Northumbria, 41.

Ina, king of Wessex, 31. Abdicates and
dies at Rome, 37. His grant to Glaston-
bury, 32.

Indract, St. account of, 26.

Investiture of churches, 298, 447. Pope
Paschal's epistle on, 448. Contests about.
458. '

Ipres, William de, his perfidy, 495. Bums
the abbey of Warewell, 523.

Ireland, converted, 24. Its dependence on
England, 443.

Jemsalem, expedition to, or Crusade, 3.55.
Approach to by Cmsaders, 383. Descrip-
tion of, 384. Patriarchs of, 385. Siece of.
387. Capture of, 389.

Jews, their insolence, 338.

Jewish youth, anecdote of, 338. note.

John XIII, pope, his epistle to Alfric, 151.
Confirms the grants to Glastonbury, 153.

John XV. pope, makes peace between
Ethelred and Richard duke of Normandy,

John Fitz-Oilbert, 512.

INDEX.

541

Joscelyn of St. Berlins, account of, 355.

His translation of St. Augustine, ib.
Jothwel, king of the Welsh, 129.
Joust, meaning of that term, 515, note.
Jutes, a German tribe, settled in Britain, 9,

Katigis, son of Vortigem, death of, 10.

Kenelm, St. 87. Murdered by his sister,
238.

Kenred, king of Northumbria, 53.

Kenred, or Kinred, king of Mercia, 72.

Kent. Its conversion to Christianity, 13.
Annexed to "West Saxons, 17. Ravaged
by Ina, 31. Its extent, 91.

Kentwin, king of Wessex, 30.

Kenwalk, king of Wessex, 20; his death, 30.

Kenulph, king of Mercia, 79—86.

Kinad, king of Scots, 147, 158.

Knights, order of, among the Anglo-Sax-
ons, 131.

Lambert, abp. of Canterbury, deprived, 78.

Lamp, perpetual, 234.

Lanfranc, abp. of Canterbury, 300, 323.

Lanzo, prior of Lewes, account of, 472

Laurentius, abp. of Canterbury, chastized
by St. Peter, 13.

Legion, Theban, account of, 136, ■>iote.

Leo III, pope, 79. His epistle, 82.

Leofa, murders king Edmund, 143.

Leofric, earl of Hereford, 214.

Leonard, St. his peculiar power, 415, note.

Leutherius, bishop, founds Malmesbury, 28.

Lewis VI, king of France, account of, 438.

Library, noble one at York, 62 ; at Jerusa-
lem, 385.

Libraries formerly attached to churches,
120.

London, ravaged, 97 ; granted by Alfred to
earl Ethered, 116; besieged by Danes,
167 ; by Canute, 194 ; dreadful tempest
at, 342.

Longinus, St. legend of, 136, note.

Lothere, king of Kent, 15.

Lucius, king of the Britons, baptized, 21

Luidhard, bishop, exemplary life of, 12.

Mabil, wife of Robert earl of Gloucester, 1,
note: 433, note, 483, 528.

Malcolm, king of the Cumbrians, 147.

Malcolm II, king of Scotland, 199.

Malcolm III, placed on the throne of Scot-
land, by Edward the Confessor, 214 ; re-
ceives the English fugitives, 282 ; slain,
283, 333.

Malger, archbp. of Rouen, account of, 300.

Malmesbury, monastery of, founded, 28 ;
seized by Offa, 78 ; by Alstan, 98 ; its
possessions restored, 86 ; monks expel-
led by Edwy, 146 ; seized by Roger bishop
of Salisbury, 508 ; singular account of
one of its monks, 177.

Malmesbury, John abbat of, his character,
509.

Malmesbury, William monk of, his motives

for writing histoij, 1 ; his history of
Glfcstonbury, 21 ; his love of learning and
fondness for books, 93 ; of Norman and
English parentage, 258; his diffidence,
414 ; first regular historian of the English
after Bede, 477 ; three small volumes of
his works supposed to be lost, 480, note ,
residence at Malmesbury, 28 ; indignation
at oppression of his monastery, 78, 98,
146, 508 ; his design of writing the Uvea
of the prelates, 148.

Magus, Simon, legend of, 180, Tiote.

Mancus, value of, 82, note.

Manse, signitication of, 108, note.

Marchio, its signification, 517, note

Margaret, wife of Malcolm king of Scots,
her issue, 253 ; her piety and death, 333.

Martin, St. his relics cure a leprous per-
son, 116.

Matilda, wife of William I, 265, 305.

Matilda, wife of Henry I, account of, 2.53,
428 ; her piety, learning, and death, 452.

Matilda, or Maud, married to Henry V, 457 ;
returns to England, 481 ; succession of
England settled on her, 482 ; married to
Fulco earl of Anjou, 483 ; succession again
confirmed to her, 487 ; elected queen,
519 ; designs of, 531 ; escape from Ox-
ford, 535.

Maurilius of Feschamp, account of, 301.

Mayors of the palace, 64, note.

Maximus, assumes the empire, 6 ; his ex-
pedition to Gaul, and death, ib.

Mellent, Robert earl of, account of, 441.

Mercia, kings of, 70 ; extent of, 92 ; Mercians
unite with the Danes, 112 ; their noble
stand in favour of Ethelred, 192.

Mice, singular tales concerning, 316, 317.

Milburga, abbess of Wenlock, 243.

Miles, ambiguity of that term, 289, note .-
499.

Miracles, Oswald's, 49; of pope Leo III,
65; of St. Martin, 116; St. Edward's,
164 ; of St. Magnus, 182 ; of Ethelred and
Ethelbert, 238; of St. Kenelm, ib. St.
Wistan, 239 ; St. Edmund, 240 ; St. Mil-
burga, 243 ; Eadburga, 244 ; Editha, 245;
of Edward the Confessor, 248.

Money, debased state of in time of king
Stephen, 511.

Montgomerie, Roger, conspires against
William II, 329.

Morcar, son of Elgar, made earl of North-
umbria, 223 ; defeated by Dane-!, 256 ;
his death, 285.

Moreton, William earl of, rebels against
Henry I, 431.

Mountain, perforated, tale of, 178.

Murrain, dreadful, 417.

Necromancy, 180, 232.
Nice, in Bithynia, siege of, 366, 377.
Nidering, or Nithing, signification of, 330.
Normandy, granted to RoUo, 125; dis-
tracted state of, aeo, 331, 422, 431

542

INDEX.

Normandy, William I, duke of, account of,
143.

Normandy, Richard I, duke of, his pacifi-
cation with Ethelred, 171.

Normandy, Richard II, duke of, account
of, 188.

Normandy, Robert I, duke of, account of,
259; his expedition to Jerusalem, 189.

Normandy, Robert II, Curthose, duke of,
pawns his duchy, 339 ; joins the crusade,
366, 410 ; account of, 420 ; arrangement
with Henry I, 422 ; imprisoned till death,
423.

Normans, subdue part of Gaul, 8 ; unjust
preference of after the conquest, 253 ;
dislike to William II, 329 ; feuds of with
the English, 217 ; manners and customs
of, 280.

Northumberland, Robert, earl of, 323, 339.

Northumbria, kingdom of, 41 ; divided into
two provinces, 46 ; its extent, 93 ; yields
to Egbert, 96 ; unites with Danes, 112 ;
subdued by Athelstan, 129.

Norwegian, singular courage of one, 256.

Norway, succession of its kmgs, 292.

Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, separates
Edwy from Elfgiva, 146.

Odo, bishop of Bayeux and earl of Kent,
307 ; rebels against Rufus and is banished,
328.

Offa, king of Mercia, his character, 77 ; rapa-
city, 78 ; treaty with Charlemagne, 84.

Offa, king of Essex, becomes a monk, 91.

Ordeal, account of, 22, note.

Order, monastic, afflicted by Edwy, 146 ;
revives under Edgar, 155.

Organ, hydraulic, account of, 175.

Orkney, isles of, subdued by Magnus, 343 ;
Paul earl of, 443.

Osbeme, precentor of Canterbury, his life
of Dunstan, 146 ; his skill in music, 148.

Osbert, king of Northumbria, 112.

Osred, king of Northumbria, 68.

Oswald, king of Northumbria, 46 ; his death,
48 ; miracles, 49, 237.

Oswin, king of Northumbria, 50.

Oswy, king of Northumbria, 50, 51.

Otha, brother of Hengist, settles in North-
umbria, 40.

Otho, the Great, 66.

Pallas, his body found at Rome, 234.

Palling, a Danish noble murdered, 185.

Palms, assumed by pilgrims, and why, 398.

Palumbus, a priest, 233 ; his death, 234.

Paschal II, pope, his letter to Henry I, on
investitures, 448 ; to Anselm, 450 ; con-
test with the emperor Henry V, 457.

Paschasius, his story of the Host, 314.

Patrick, St. 24.

Patrician of Rome, its office, 462.

Paul, of Samotmta, 396.

Paulinua, 26 ; converts the Northumbrians,
45.

Penda, king of Mtercia, his character, 70 ;
his death, 71.

Peter the Hennit, account of, 366, 381.

Peter-pence, origin of, 98, 202.

Petraiy, meaning of that tenn, 380, 405.

Philip I, king oT France, 206. His infatu-
ated conduct, 437.

Philip the clerk, account of, 420.

Places, holy, Bede's account of, 57.

Plegmund, abp. of Canterbury, 120.

Plough-alms, what, 201.

Poison, antidote against, 415.

Poitou, Peter, bishop of, account of, 469.

Poitou, William, earl of, defeated by the
Turks, 408. His licentious conduct, 469.

Prodigy, of the double woman, 235.

Pythagoras, his double path, 172.

Quendrida, murders her brother Kenelm,
87, 238.

Ramula, description of, 383. Siege of, 409.

Ranulf, or Ralph, bishop of Durham, his
character, 336, 476. Imprisoned, 428.
His escape, 429.

Raymond, earl of St. Giles, joins the cru-
sade, 365. Account of, 416.

Reading monastery, 447.

Redwald, king of the East Angles, 41, 88.

Repasts, custom concerning in England,
changed, 441, note.

Richard, son of Will. I, his untimely death,
306.

Ring, with Solomon's impression, 177.

Ritual, Ambrosian, 350, note, Gregorian, ib.

Robert, archbishop of Canterbury, 217. He
flies, proceeds to Rome, and dies, 221.

Robert, bishop of Chester, account of, 354.

Robert Curthose. See Normandy.

Robert, earl of Moreton, brother of Will. I,
307.

Robert Fitz-Hubert, 511.

Robert Friso, earl of Flanders, account o^
289.

Robert Guiscard, account of, 295.

Robert, king of France, his character, 204.

Robert, son of Godwin, account of, 284.

Roger, bishop of Salisbury, account of, 441.
Imprisoned, 500. Death and character,
507.

Rollo the Dane, obtains Rouen, 125. His
insolence, 126.

Romans finally quit Britain, 6.

Rome, dreadful state of, 224. Citizen of,
singular story of, 232. Poetical descrip-
tion of, 367. Account of its gates, church-
es, &c. 368. Schism in church of, 484.

Rome-scot, 98, 202.

Ross, in Wales, Flemings settled at, 435.

Rouen, William, archbishop of, account of
438.

Sabert, king of East Saxons, baptized, 90.
Saints, incorruption of several, after death,
48, 236.

INDEX.

543

Salisbury, tempest at, 343 ; cathedral, 442.
Saracens, their learning and divination, 173.

Defeat of at Ascalon, 407.
Saxons, invited over from Germany, 7.
Saxons, East, kingdom of, 90. Its extent, 92.
Saxons, West kingdom of, 17. Its extent,
92.

Schools instituted in East Anglia, 88.

Scotland, subdued by Canute, 199.

Scots, defeated by the Angles, 9. Charac-
terized, 364. Civilized by king David, 434.

Scotus, Johannes, account of, 119.

Scotus, Marianus, account of, 317.

Selsey, monastery of, 92. Singular circum-
stance at, 236.

Sepulchre, holy, church of, 384, 389.

Serlo, bishop of Sees, trims the beard of
Henry I, 445, note.

Serlo, abbat of Gloucester, account of, 471.

Severus, dies in Britain, 5.

Shift of the Virgin, confounds the Danes,
125.

Ship, a magnificent, presented to Athelstan,
134.

Shoes with curved points, 337, note.

Sibilla, duchess of Noimandy, 421, note.

Sigebert, king of Wessex, 38. His death, ib.

Sigebert, king of East Anglia, 89.

Sighelm, bishop of Sherborne, sent to India
by Alfred, 118.

Simony, its extensive spread, 357.

Siric, abp. of Canterbury, 167. -

Sithtric, king of Northumbria, 129, 132.

Siward, earl of Northumbria, kills Macbeth,
214. Supports Edward the Confessor,
219.

Siward, king of Norway, winters in Eng-
land, 444. His voyage to Jerusalem, ib.

Slaves, female, prostituted and sent to Den-
mark, 222. Custom of selling, 279.

Sleepers, seven, stoiy of, 250, note.

Solyman, sovereign of Romania, his army
defeated, 376. Defeats the Franks, 408.

Sow, a warlike engine so called, 388.

Spear of Charlemagne, which pierced our
Saviour, 135.

Spike, used at the Crucifixion, 135.

Statue, in the Campus Martins, 176.

Statue, brazen, at Rome, story of, 232.

Stephen, earl of Moreton, account of, 482.
Comes to England and is chosen king, 490.
Crowned, and goes into Scotland, 491.
His character, 495. His perfidy to Ro-
bert, earl of Gloucester, 496. His violent
conduct, 500. Contest with his brother
the legate, 504. Coufiicts with the Em-
press's party, 506, 507. Besieges Lin-
coln, 514. Defeated and made captive,
515. Liberated, 524. Plunders Ware-
ham, 533. Bums Oxford, ib.

Stigand, bishop of Winton, 221, 253, 281,

302.
Sugar-cane, account of, 397, note.
Suger, abbat of St. Denis, his account of
Henry I, 446, note.

Sultan, meaning of that term, 379.
Superst ition, singular, 122, and note.
Sussex, kingdom of, 92, note.
Sweyn, king of Denmark, invades England,

185. His conduct, 189, and death, 190.
Sweyn, son of Godwin, 219, 222. Goes to

Jerusalem and is killed by the Saracens, ib.
Swithun, St., bishop of Winchester, 98.
Sword, miraculous, Athelstan's, 130 ; Con-

stantine's, 135.

Tancred, prince of Antioch, enters Beth-
lehem, 383 ; his covetousness, 390 ; his
conduct and death, 419.

Tewkesbury, monastery of, 433.

Thanet, isle of, appropriated to the Angles
on their arrival, 9.

Thanet, monastery of, minster, 15.

Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, 15,
note, 51.

Thorns, crown of, 136.

Thurkill, the Dane, invites Sweyn, to Eng-
land, 185; his expulsion and death, 197.

Time, division of by candle, 121.

Tirel, Walter, kills W. Rufus, 345.

Tosty, son of Godwin, expelled by the
Northumbrians, 222 ; retires to Flanders,
223 ; his attempts against Harold, 256 ;
defeated and slain, 257, 285.

Tower of London, its origin, 341.

Truce of God, why so called, 358, note.

Tudites, or iViartel, Carolus, 64 ; his body
carried off by evil spirits, 232.

Turks, their extensive dominion, 360 ;
crafty mode of fight, 361 ; cruelty at the
siege of Nice, 376 ; at Antioch, 379 ; de-
feated near Berith, 401 ; bodies burnt to
obtain money they had swallowed, 406,
note; besiege Baldwin at Rama, 284.

Vavassour, meaning of, 510, note.
Vallery, St., his body brought forth to im-
plore a wind, 273.
Ver, Albric de, his harangue in favour of

king Stephen, 502.
"Vindelici, account of, 208.
Virginity, Aldhelm's commendation of,

29, 36.
Visions, of Charles king of France, 102 ; of

Athelstan's mother, 139 ; of Edgar, 156 ;

of Edward Confessor, 249 ; of Constan-

tine the Great, 372.
Vortigem, his character, 7, 11.
Vortimer, the son of Vortigem, 10.
Ulfkytel, earl of Essex, attacks the Danes

at Thetford, 69; killed at Assingdon.

170, 194.
Urban II, pope, 299 ; instigates the first

cmsade, 357 ; his speech at the council of

Clermont, 359; contests with Guibert,

414.
Utred, earl of Northumbria, 192 ; defeated

and put to death by Canute, 193.

Waher, Ralph de, rebels against William
I, 287.

644

INDEX.

Wales, reduced to a province, 214 ; pays
tribute to Athelstan, 134.

Walkelin, bishop of Winchester, 302.

Walker, bishop of Durham, murdered, 303.

Walwin, nephew of Anhur, his sepulchre,
315. .

Waltheof, earl, account of, 386 ; his death,
ibid

Warewell, or Whorwell, 160; monastery
of, ib.

Warwick, Henry earl of, 441.

Welsh, subdued by Edward the Elder, 123 ;
by Harold, 256 ; by Henry I, 435.

Werburga, patroness of Chester, 72, 236,
243.

Werefrith, bishop of Worcester, 118.

Westminster Abbey consecrated, 255.

West-Saxon kings, geneology of, 109.

Wight, Isle of, given to Withgar, 218 ; con-
verted to Christianity, 71.

Wilfrid, bishop of Hexham, expelled his
see, 51.

William I, king of England, 253 ; his early
history, 259 ; his conquests, 268 ; is
crowned, 281 ; summary of his wars, 282;
his issue, 305 ; munificence to monaste-
ries, 308 ; death, 310.

William II, king of England, his birth and
education, 327 ; contentions with his
nobles, 328 ; seizes castles of Tunbridge
and Pevensey, 319; contests and treaty
with his brother Robert, 330 ; his expe-
dition against Wales and Scotland, 333 ;
character, 334, 346 ; calamitous events of
his reign, 342 ; singular tokens and man-
ner of his death, 344.

William of Carilef, bishop of Durham, 304.

William, earl of Arches, 263.

William Fitz-Osberne, account of, 289.

William, son of Henry I, 454.

Winchelcumb, dreadful tempest at, 342.

Winchester, church at, 21, 39 ; Canute's
liberality to, 198.

Windows, glass, first makers of in Eng-
land, 54.

Wiatan, St. account of, 239.

Witch, Berkeley, account of, 230.

Witches, two at Rome, account of, 180.

Withlaf, king of Mercia, 88, 96.

Withred, king of Kent, 16.

Woden, account of, 8.

Wolves, tribute of, paid to Edgar, 158.

Woodstock Park, menagerie at, 443.

Worcester, insurrection at, 207.

Wulnod, destroys Ethelred's fleet, 169.

Wulnod, son of Godwin, 222.

Wulstan, precentor of Winchester, 149 ,
his book on the harmony of sounds, ib.

Wulstan, archbishop of York, confined by
Edred, 145.

Wulstan, bishop of Worcester, account of,
303.

WuKhere, king of Mercia, 71, 72.

York, city of, burnt, 112 ; besieged, 133 ;

destroyed, 282.
York, see of, controversy with Canterbury,

319; with Worcester and Dorchester,

323.
Youths, from England, exposed to sale at

Rome. 42.

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